Conspiracy Claims in Venezuela

Listening to embattled President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela ramble for hours about an international right-wing conspiracy to oust him, it’s clear that he would use any fabricated pretext to jail opposition leaders and crack down on dissent. In recent days, the government’s claims have become outlandish and its repression of critics even more vicious…. “You know that the right in Madrid, the ultraright in Bogotá and the ultraright in Miami have forged an axis to conspire against the homeland,” Mr. Maduro said Thursday in a televised address. Delcy Rodríguez, the country’s foreign minister, weighed in with an absurd detail, saying on Twitter that “the international community should know that the coup plan included airstrikes to tactical objectives without distinction of civilians.” More…