David vs. Goliath: Los Roques and the Rebirth of Venezuela’s Story
Every era has its Goliath. For us in Venezuela, Goliath has not been a single man, but a machine — the endless stream of propaganda, the weight of oil interests, and the headlines that have tried to define us as unsafe, unstable, and unworthy.
But David’s story has always been about resilience. And resilience is what defines Los Roques, our people, and our way of life.
For decades, Venezuela has been cast aside, banned from air routes, shut out of financial systems, and treated as if turmoil was our only identity. Yet if you look around the world today, every nation wrestles with its own storms — protests, corruption, economic struggles, coups. The difference is that Venezuela was marked and magnified as the symbol of it all.
That was never the full story.
The truth is, Venezuela is one of the 17 megadiverse countries on Earth. We hold the third-largest freshwater reserves in the world, vast rainforests, endless Caribbean coastlines, and more than ten untouched islands with sand as white as flour and waters painted in eight shades of blue.
Here in Los Roques, just 80 miles offshore, lies something rare — a Pacific-style atoll in the middle of the Caribbean, completely outside the hurricane belt. Anchorages lie empty. The biodiversity is unmatched. The horizon feels endless. And what brings this place alive is not only its natural beauty but the service and warmth of its people. From a fisherman sharing his catch, to a family welcoming guests with a smile, to the ease with which a yacht is cleared in under 20 minutes — Los Roques speaks louder than any headline. It proves that Venezuela is safe, thriving, and welcoming.
Yes, Venezuela has its challenges. Boats have been stolen, resources fought over, politics debated. But which country doesn’t have its shadows? What we don’t have is the identity forced on us: a so-called narco-state. Here, even a joint can land you in jail. Drugs are not our culture. Our wealth has always been in oil, in gold, in water, in biodiversity — and in the resilience of our people.
That richness is precisely why outsiders have tried to control the narrative. It is easier to paint Venezuela as dangerous than to admit the truth: this is one of the richest and most beautiful countries on Earth. And so, despite the noise, Los Roques rises. Every yacht that anchors here, every guest who walks barefoot on our beaches, every captain who expected chaos but found ease and safety — each is proof that the story is changing. What they discover is not the caricature of Venezuela painted abroad, but the reality of a nation with open arms, where there is no racism, no walls of religion, only hospitality and a will to thrive.
David never defeated Goliath with size. He did it with truth and precision. In the same way, every visit to Los Roques is a stone in the sling — small on its own, but powerful enough to shift perception. This battle was never about strength. It was always about perspective. And here, in Los Roques, Venezuela is reclaiming its story — one boat, one guest, one unforgettable day at a time.
Still ours. And still yours.
