Since 2017, the streets of Buenos Aires have been flooded with Venezuelans. At first it looked like simple migration, but local resentment quickly grew.

Why did they risk their lives to cross the border?

Because of Maduro’s dictatorship.

Hugo Chávez’s rule had already started weakening Venezuela’s economy, but after Chávez’s death in 2013, Nicolás Maduro took power and the country collapsed at an astonishing speed.

Hyperinflation, severe shortages of food, medicine, and electricity, and brutal political repression became everyday life. People began “chain migration” — one family member would arrive first, then work to bring the next.

They finally gained freedom. But as immigrants, most ended up driving taxis just to survive. In a predominantly white city, cultural clashes and rising crime also became serious issues.

Here’s the most shocking and infuriating part:

Maduro himself is Colombian.

Under Venezuelan law, he was not even eligible to run for president. Yet somehow, he became the leader of Venezuela.

Even worse, many believe Cuba was actually in control behind the scenes. Fidel Castro’s communist revolution left its remnants across Latin America. Through Maduro, Cuba effectively seized Venezuela’s vast oil wealth and national assets, while the Venezuelan people starved.

In the name of communism, they destroyed an entire country, committed electoral fraud, and turned millions into refugees.

Venezuelans fled dictatorship in search of freedom — only to face extreme poverty in Argentina.

This is the tragedy of a nation hijacked by foreign forces. A country rich in oil was looted by outsiders with no legitimate political mandate.

We must face this reality clearly. A nation can collapse so easily when it falls into the hands of external powers.

What do you think?

Looking at Venezuela’s collapse, do you believe Korea must never walk the same path?