After Right-Wing Coup Effort in DC, Venezuela Offers Sympathy for US Suffering What 'It Has Generated' Elsewhere

While Democratic and Republican lawmakers, political pundits, and angered U.S. citizens of all stripes rightly condemned Wednesday's violent coup attempt by a pro-Trump mob in the nation's capital, at least one foreign government offered its sympathy to the victims of the assault while also pointing out that U.S.-backed efforts to subvert democracy abroad are all too common.

In the wake of the day's deadly mayhem at the U.S. Capitol building, the Venezuelan government issued a public statement expressing "concern with the acts of violence that are taking [place] in the city of Washington, D.C."

"Venezuela condemns the political polarization and the spiral of violence that only reflects the deep crisis that the political and social system of the United States is currently going through," the statement continues. "With this unfortunate episode, the United States is suffering the same thing that it has generated in other countries with its policies of aggression."

Juan Guaido, Venezuela's right-wing opposition figure who in 2019 oversaw a failed U.S.-backed coup attempt after the reelection of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, became a flashpoint for commentators eager to shed light on the hypocrisy of U.S. lawmakers from both major parties who gave Guaido a standing ovation when the self-anointed leader was erroneously described by President Donald Trump during his 2020 State of the Union address as the "true and legitimate president of Venezuela."

Alluding to a viral photo of a Trump supporter triumphantly raising his fist in the U.S. Senate Chamber during Wednesday's anti-democratic insurrection, journalist Max Blumenthal of The Grayzone News said, "Imagine if a foreign power recognized this guy as president and you'll know how Venezuelans feel."

The Grayzone's Anya Parampil noted that Maduro opponent Carlos Vecchio "was welcomed in D.C. as Juan Guaido's ambassador," not long after "encouraging violence and attacks on government buildings in Venezuela."

The main difference between the Venezuelan opposition that has tried to violently overthrow Maduro since he was reelected and the so-called #StopTheSteal rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday in an attempt to strip President-elect Joe Biden of his legitimate victory, Parampil added, is that corporate media "recognizes the danger in these actions when they're taking place in their own capital."

Others also drew links between the efforts of the pro-Trump mob and Washington's anti-Maduro forces, sardonically suggesting that some of Wednesday's actions may have been inspired by Guaido.

Critics lambasted Guaido for having the audacity to denounce Wednesday's attack on democracy in D.C., reminding the "self-proclaimed puppet" of Washington of the similarities between his unsuccessful, anti-democratic power grab in Venezuela and the chaotic events that unfolded in the U.S. on Wednesday.

Like Guaido, right-wing pundit Yascha Mounk also deemed it appropriate to opine on the coup attempt in D.C., denouncing "groups of armed nihilists attempt[ing] to destroy federal buildings that are key to the maintenance of the rule of law."

The only problem, journalist Ollie Vargas pointed out, is that when "this exact set of events (fascist mobs seizing public institutions) took place in Bolivia," Mounk celebrated the military coup that replaced then-president Evo Morales with a brutal right-wing regime, calling it--in true Orwellian fashion--a victory for democracy.

In an interview with teleSUR, political analyst Arnold August explained that while Wednesday's terrible events are relatively unprecedented in the U.S., "unfortunately, these scenes are not unprecedented when it comes to U.S. foreign policy."

"The chickens have come home to roost," August said. "It is not unprecedented in U.S. foreign policy to carry out coups far more violent than the one that is going on in Washington, D.C. at the moment." He listed several recent examples of countries, including Paraguay, Brazil, Venezuela, and Bolivia, whose leaders were overthrown after pursuing policies that run counter to the interests of the U.S. ruling class.

August suggested that U.S. lawmakers disturbed by the attempt of pro-Trump forces to undermine the democratic process in this nation should not support regime change "elsewhere in the world."

Officials in the Maduro administration concluded their statement by saying that "Venezuela hopes that soon the violence will cease and the American people can finally open a new path towards stability and peace."