Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

this year's coup
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
14 Mar 2019
🖨️ Print Article
Venezuela's fantasy president, Juan Guiado with co-sponsors President Marquez of Colombia and US vice president Mike Pence
Venezuela's fantasy president Juan Guiado

Who knew him
five days ago?
Today, he’s Play Dough—
President—
in handlers oily hands…
Brazen 1% switcheroo,
another king nobody knew—
rosy World Bank worldview
Championing the well-to-do…

Who knew they’d install him?
Or, just what they’d call him?
Maybe he’d be called “the law?”
Maybe he’d be crowned “Shah?”
Or—just for a sense of déjà vu—
Maybe “Mobutu” might do…
for a name in this year’s coup?

© 2019. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.
Raymond Nat Turner is an accomplished poet and performing artist. You can find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

Venezuela
poetry

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • Joshua Reaves Charmelus
    "You Gotta Do the Road Work": Ben Passmore on the UFC, White Nationalism, and Radical Fight Culture
    24 Jun 2026
    Joshua Reaves-Charmelus spoke with Ben Passmore to discuss the “Freedom 250” UFC event, its meaning, and the broader problem of right-wing fighting culture.
  • Mark P. Fancher
    If You are Born in this Country with Black skin, You are Already in Jail
    24 Jun 2026
    Malcolm X explained it well. Every Black person in this country is a prisoner, sometimes literally behind bars, and sometimes on the outside of jail, but a prisoner, nonetheless.
  • Beverley Waithaka
    Kenya Is Not America's Quarantine Zone
    24 Jun 2026
    The United States announced that Kenya, with the permission of a comprador government, would serve as an Ebola quarantine hub for Americans, ignoring the will of the Kenyan people and treating the…
  • North-South Project for People(s)-Centered Human Rights
    Resisting U.S. Human Rights Barbarism: The Arrest of Alyssa Philip In Trinidad and Tobago
    24 Jun 2026
    A protest leader in Trinidad was arrested during Labour Day celebrations for the crime of demanding justice for a paralyzed shooting victim. The government's willingness to silence dissent at home…
  • Isaac Saney
    Walking the Tight-Rope and Threading the Needle: Strategic Adaptation Under Siege: Cuba's Economic Reforms and the Defence of Socialist Sovereignty
    24 Jun 2026
    Washington's economic war has left Cuba with few good options. The recently announced reforms require a very thorough analysis.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us