CARACAS, VENEZUELA ― In a stunning shift after over a decade of dictatorial rule, the government of Venezuela fell this weekend to a new, slightly different dictator.
Following his autocratic overthrow of an autocrat, the new American dictator of Venezuela swiftly moved to put the old Venezuelan dictator of Venezuela on trial for cocaine importation. Officials stressed that Nicolás Maduro is not, however, being charged with any violations of human rights or international law, since Donald Trump is guilty of the same violations.
Across the globe, everyday citizens reacted to the double dictator news. “I’ve done a bunch of reading today into the Monroe Doctrine, the Roosevelt Corollary, the Good Neighbor Policy, and the near-constant US intervention in South American politics from both sides of the aisle during the Cold War, and I’ve concluded that the new autocratic government is headed by a much whiter autocrat, so apparently this is okay,” reasoned 31-year-old Ava Hendricks of Toronto.
However, fellow Torontonian, 53-year-old David MacLean, disagreed. “I don’t think it’s fair to call this new guy a ‘dictator.’ How could a place that brands itself as ‘the land of the free’ possibly be autocratic?”
The previous autocratic government of Venezuela has been condemned for jailing and torturing its critics, much as the new autocratic government of Venezuela has been condemned for jailing and torturing its critics. However, the old autocratic government reacted to peaceful protests with violent repression in 2014 and 2017, in contrast to the new autocratic government, which reacted to peaceful protests with violent repression in 2025.
Political experts see no end in sight to such policies in Venezuela, because the new government, like the old government, is a dictatorship. The new dictator appeared to confirm this Monday, stating that he has no immediate plans to hold new elections.
Both governments have also taken steps to intervene in the process of free and fair elections, shown little sympathy as their citizens struggled to feed themselves amidst high inflation, and failed to ensure affordable healthcare.
“Is this bad news? I think it’s bad because Donald Trump is an autocrat and it definitely sounds bad to be interfering in another country’s government,” said Andre, a New Yorker who asked to go by his first name only because his home country is known to disappear people who criticize its government, a practice which does not occur in democratic republics.
“No, I think it might be good news? Or neutral, anyway. Because most South American countries are run by dictators already,” interjected his wife. “I’m not familiar enough with Venezuela to decide which dictator I prefer.”
In a related update, Russia is warning its citizens not to travel to Venezuela if possible, as the South American country is now being governed by an autocrat who is not quite as close an ally as the previous autocrat of the autocrat in charge of Russia.
