Against the bad guys, no evidence needed

Les Blough’s article Sobering Reasons for Venezuelan President Maduro’s Cancellation of Beijing to New York Trip published by Venezuelanalysis reaches an interesting conclusion:

"For people living outside of Latin America these claims of sabotage and assassination plots may seem to be strange and difficult to believe. But the enlightened see these threats in the context of 200 years of Washington's history of interference in internal affairs, creation and funding of sedition,  their training and support of right-wing death squads, coups and assassinations in Latin America.

"More recently in Venezuela these plots to discredit, weaken and even assassinate President Maduro become illuminated with knowledge of Washington's non-stop attacks on Venezuela's economy causing hyperinflation; sabotage of food production and distribution and the electrical system; funding of the opposition with multi-millions of US tax payer dollars; infiltration and corruption of some government officials, police, military and organized labor; advising and funding a malicious private media by CIA and State Department out of the US Embassy in Caracas; the violation of Venezuelan airspace; cross border attacks and assassinations of labor leaders by Colombian death squads; the attack on Venezuela's biggest oil refinery at Amuay in August, 2012 that killed 42 people and injured 120 and of course, the failed US-backed coup in April, 2002 when they kidnapped President Chavez and the 2002-2003 manager's walkout that shut down the country's oil industry for 3 months. There are also valid reasons why many in Venezuela and throughout Latin America are convinced that President Chavez was assassinated by induced cancer.

"If this isn't enough for the skeptics, think about the history and evidence of US wars for "regime change" and theft of natural resources. Think about Venezuela in possession of the world's largest proven oil reserves, only 5 days journey from US refineries by tanker. Then ask yourself if the deviants in Washington are not sufficiently immoral and capable of planning the assassination of a defiant President Maduro who follows in the path of Bolivar and Chavez for Venezuelan sovereignty and independence."

It is a good point: Anti-Americanism has good reasons to exist in Latin American given past and recent history.

The Venezuelan government has been presenting that history as “evidence” of its conspiracy theories: “we know the US is evil, we know it is capable of some pretty awful things, we have seen them in the past, and therefore we don’t need to show any evidence of our accusations.”

I remain a skeptic: no matter how far I agree with a critical assessment of past US policies towards Latin America, I don’t see how this somehow exempts Maduro from showing real evidence of his almost daily accusations. I don’t see how we are “illuminated with knowledge” by presenting as proven facts precisely the things for which we need evidence.

Also keep in mind that it is not only a matter of US imperialist involvement in Latin America: What Maduro is claiming is a truly gigantic “ongoing conspiracy” that includes the United States, but also “the European powers,” the “Colombian oligarchy,” the Miami Cuban and Venezuelan exiles, the Venezuelan opposition, the Venezuelan Church, and Venezuelan and international NGO's, all in cahoots against the country. It’s far worse than what Abbé Barruel claimed France had to face before the Revolution.