Some Americans would have trouble locating Venezuela on the map let alone spelling it.
There might not be trouble in paradise yet, but if the country with one of the largest oil reserves in the world and an OPEC member pictured your idea of paradise, then there's trouble, serious trouble.
Suppression of dissent, not too different from what's going on in China, represents serious trouble. Last week Venezuelan police jailed Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma. Ledezma's alleged crime, plotting with again the alleged help of U.S. aid to dismantle Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's presidency.
Jailing opposition leaders seems to be a registered patent for the Maduro administration as Ledezma in not the first to be carted off to the clinker. In the meantime, the bolivar sank from 50 to 170 to the U.S. dollar. That's a big devaluation.
As the country struggles with a collapsing economy and falling support for the incumbent administration, Maduro has increased repressive measures against his dissenters bringing criticism from outside the country.
Repression of dissenters appears to be on the rise. And it's not just rising in what many view as third world nations.
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