things that matter

People Are Furious At Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Eating An Empanada Live On TV While Citizens Starve

@hannahdreier / Twitter
By November 3, 2017 at 6:01 pm

Venezuela has been in turmoil for over a year. The economy has hit a major low point and for months the country was crippled by ongoing protests and violence. During that time, the availability of food has run scarce, leading to food shortages and a severe hunger crisis. Last year, Venezuelans on average lost 19 pounds because there is no food available in the country. When food does become available, it is severely overpriced as the country deals with extreme inflation and lines stretch for hours for the chance to buy it. There have even been opposition leaders taken from their homes in the middle of the night to quiet any dissenting voices. Yet, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has not lost weight and recently ate an empanada during a live television address, sparking outrage on social media.

Here is the video that has angered many and garnered the president massive criticism.

According to a study earlier this year, more than 80 percent of Venezuelan households live in poverty and food is extremely scarce. That’s why a video of President Maduro casually eating an empanada during a live television address has caused a backlash.

Some people think he may blame the video on a conspiracy set up by the CIA.

“Now we just have to wait for Maduro to say the CIA manipulated the video,” wrote one Twitter user.

Maduro has blamed several U.S. government officials and agencies for trying to topple his government. Claiming that the CIA doctored a video of him eating an empanada would obviously be a stretch. However, the South American president has shown such a lack of restraint in the past that people don’t know what to expect.

A couple people used the video to joke about his similarities to the U.S. president.

Granted, President Trump hasn’t taken away basic liberties and freedoms from the American people. But he’s sure trying.

And many are comparing this moment to the infamous and fictitious Maria Antoinette quote.

If you don’t know, “Let them eat cake” is a famous quote that was allegedly said by Maria Antoinette during the French Revolution. It has been debunked that the phrase came from her, yet it is still widely used to this day to characterize the elite and powerful taking advantage of the down trodden.

Even so, most people cannot believe how shameless Maduro is with this latest moment.

“Shameless.”

The Venezuelan people are still suffering and things are getting worse. Maduro has successfully installed a assembly that will be tasked to rewrite the constitution. There is still a severe lack of food and the ruling party is gaining more and more power. This act is the latest in a long running narrative of the Venezuelan government disregarding the needs of their people.


READ: Venezuelan Women Are Making Almost Quadruple The Nation’s Monthly Minimum Wage By Selling Their Hair

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The 10-Year-Old Undocumented Immigrant With Cerebral Palsy Who Was Detained By Border Patrol Has Been Released

Things That Matter

The 10-Year-Old Undocumented Immigrant With Cerebral Palsy Who Was Detained By Border Patrol Has Been Released

dreamactivist.org / U.S. Customs And Border Protection / Flickr
By Jorge Rodriguez-Jimenez November 6, 2017 at 1:49 pm

Rosa Maria Hernandez, a 10-year-old child with cerebral palsy who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while she was hospitalized after receiving emergency surgery, is no longer in a detention center near San Antonio, Texas, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The ACLU represented the child and filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration claiming that she and her family’s due process rights were violated as they were not given a chance to have their case heard before a judge after being detained, as the law states. In this case, the definition of due process in the Fifth Amendment, which “entitles a parent to a hearing on [his/her] fitness as a parent before [his/her] children [are] taken from [them],” is what was being questioned, as stated by the ACLU.

Hernandez might be out of the detention center but her fate is still uncertain.

“The Trump administration has not made clear whether they will proceed with deportation proceedings against her,” Rep. Joaquin Castro, who champions immigration rights and has condemned the actions of the president and ICE throughout this case, wrote in a statement. “I continue to call for Rosa Maria’s case to be administratively closed. Moving forward, we must address the Trump Administration’s callous actions. The United States should not be a place where children seeking life-sustaining medical care are at risk of apprehension.”

Hernandez spent over a week in a detention center after being arrested while recovering from gall bladder surgery. Border Patrol agents waited outside of her hospital room to detain her and began deportation proceedings as soon as physically possible, sparking outrage by immigration activists and some of the American public. The 10-year-old undocumented immigrant was detained after receiving life-saving surgery at Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas. Hernandez was in an ambulance with a cousin who is a U.S. citizen when the ambulance was stopped at a border checkpoint on route to the hospital.

Hernandez’s case is the second highly publicized case of detainments at a border checkpoint on the way to Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi. Previously, an undocumented couple with a U.S.-born child who needed emergency surgery was stopped at the checkpoint. The parents agreed to be detained so their son could be taken to the hospital to get the help he needed. Both parents are facing deportation proceedings.


READ: Border Patrol Waited In The Hospital While This Undocumented Child With Cerebral Palsy Was Having Surgery So They Could Detain Her

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Tags: Cerebral Palsy, Detention, immigration, Texas
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