As the U.S. Trump administration steps up pressure on the Venezuelan regime, the family of former President Hugo Chávez has moved to protect President Nicolás Maduro. Adán Chávez, Hugo Chávez's older brother, said he would "protect my brother" and has been repeatedly performing Taegeuk 1 Jang, a taekwondo poomsae, day after day.
On the 2nd, according to local media in Venezuela, Hugo Chávez's younger brother Argenis Chávez recently said he would "support Nicolás Maduro to the end," adding that "if Venezuela becomes a target of foreign aggression, I am willing to use my martial arts skills to confront U.S. troops."
On Sept. in , Hugo Chávez's youngest daughter Rosinés Chávez publicly joined the Bolivarian Militia formed by President Maduro. At the enlistment site, Chávez said she would "give my body for the fatherland," and pro-government outlets gave it extensive coverage.
The Bolivarian Militia is mobilized in peacetime to maintain social order and protect local areas, but in contingencies it is classified as an armed organization that supports the regular military. Rosinés's enlistment is seen as a symbolic decision by the Chávez family to defend the Maduro government against threats from the United States and the opposition.
The U.S. Donald Trump administration is pressuring Venezuela under the banner of a "war on drug trafficking." On the of last month, it designated Venezuela's "Cartel of the Suns" (Cartel de los Soles) as a foreign terrorist organization, citing allegations of involvement in smuggling illegal drugs into the United States.
At the same time, the Trump administration labeled Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro the head of the Cartel of the Suns, ratcheting up pressure on the Maduro regime to the highest level. Military tensions also rose as President Trump issued a warning not to fly through Venezuela's airspace.
In defiance of the United States, the family of former President Chávez is mounting a desperate campaign to protect President Maduro. Adán Chávez, the former president's older brother, has been demonstrating taekwondo poomsae and breaking techniques in front of crowds since Aug. .
Adán Chávez is a former physicist who also imparted leftist revolutionary ideology to his younger brother Hugo Chávez. In particular, while demonstrating the Taegeuk 1 Jang routine, he said it was "to declare a determination to resist foreign intervention," and added, "I will protect my brother (Maduro) with martial arts."
However, as a figure symbolizing ideological legitimacy within Venezuela's ruling party promotes the beginner routine Taegeuk 1 Jang as a "martial art that will defeat the U.S. military," ridicule is pouring in from inside and outside Venezuela. Taegeuk 1 Jang is an introductory poomsae for learning basic taekwondo stances and movements.
Meanwhile, some say the Chávez family fears the loss of status it would face if the Maduro regime collapses. Adán Chávez served as a Minister and governor under the Chávez administration and still plays the role of a core supporter and adviser to the Maduro government.