Antonella Marty

July 4th has come and gone in America, with tens of millions of Americans celebrating their independence.

But many Latin Americans aren’t so lucky. Over the holiday weekend, countries across the region faced mass upheaval over rising food and fuel prices. Thousands of Venezuelan migrants walked out of the Mexican city of Tapachula en masse to pressure authorities into allowing them to continue to the U.S. border. Dozens of migrants — desperate to reach greener pastures — recently died in a failed smuggling attempt.

People are putting their lives at risk to escape evil at home.

In Cuba, the communist regime continues to repress any and all forms of dissent, punishing people who dare to speak out. Last year, thousands of Cubans took to the streets protesting their economic woes and government abuses, and hundreds of them have been imprisoned. Some have been jailed for up to 25 years. Singers like Maykel “Osorbo” Castillo are imprisoned for singing “Patria y Vida” (“homeland and life”). Dissidents like Ruhama Fernandez live their lives in constant fear, facing intimidation from the government. Met with threats, the families of dissidents are similarly at risk of retribution.

In Nicaragua, the Sandinista government guarantees victory after an electoral victory by shutting down objections and arresting dozens of regime opponents. President Daniel Ortega — in office since 2007 — is set to lead the country until 2027, making him Latin America’s longest-serving ruler. Nicaragua’s civil society continues to crumble, with the Ortega regime effectively shutting down non-governmental organizations to centralize power.

The country is now home to nearly 200 political prisoners, with opposition leaders like Felix Maradiaga jailed and separated from their families. Maradiaga’s wife, Berta Valle, fights for her husband’s freedom daily, but to no avail.

In nearby Venezuela, the situation is perhaps worse. Amid an unprecedented social collapse under dictator Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s government-controlled, petroleum-based economy has seen rampant food scarcity and the second-largest migration crisis in the world. Millions of Venezuelans [http://millions%20of%20people%20lacking%20food%20and%20basic%20services./]lack access to food and basic services. A whopping 94 percent of people live in poverty. The situation is so dire that 20 percent of Venezuela’s population has left the country, as countless refugees take their chances elsewhere.

For those who remain, tyranny is all too real. Maduro maintains his drug cartel inside the Venezuelan army, known as “El Cartel de los Soles.” The country is essentially run by mafiosos and drug dealers. Economic depression is the way of life. Freedom and liberty are nowhere to be found — stamped out by a Maduro regime that presides over a wrecked economy.

To the north, Americans must continue to count their blessings. Because of the Founding Fathers and generations of Americans who followed, the tragic case studies of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela are far removed from the independence enjoyed at home. But the American way of life is only guaranteed if individual people keep perspective and understand the ugly alternative to independence in other parts of the world — some only 90 miles from Florida.

Tens of millions of Latin Americans look to the United States as the shining city on a hill, and for a good reason. Americans are very, very fortunate to live in it.

Even after July 4th, let’s keep the less fortunate in mind.

Antonella Marty is the author of “Capitalism: Antidote to Poverty.” She serves as the director of public relations at Atlas Network. She wrote this for InsideSources.com.