The Venezuelan army’s staunch loyalty to an illegitimate dictator

General Padrino López, ministry of Defense, and Nicolás Maduro.

My text in The Conversation (Canada) about the role that the military is playing in the Venezuelan crisis. 

Since its birth as an independent republic, Venezuela has lived under the shadow of militarism in what writer Ana Teresa Torres has called the “heritage of the tribe.” Militarism was front and centre in a prolonged civil war in the 19th century and in dictatorships in the 20th century, the most brutal of them led by generals Juan Vicente Gomez and Marcos Pérez Jimenez.

To read the full article click here.