PATRIOT INSIDER
Living Through the Collapse: Lessons from Venezuela, Bosnia, and Cuba
Firsthand accounts and practical applications from real-world disasters
We sit here in America (and the West at large) thinking collapse is some distant, unlikely possibility. But the hard reality? Collapse has already happened. Not in theory. Not in history books. But in our lifetime.
Venezuela. Bosnia. Cuba.
Three countries. Three different disasters.
And three sets of lessons every survivalist should memorize before the hammer drops here.
Venezuela: When Money Turns to Toilet Paper
In Venezuela, the collapse came as hyperinflation. A loaf of bread that cost one dollar one week cost ten the next. Pensions vanished. Savings evaporated. Crime soared as people starved.
The Lesson: Your paper money isn’t real wealth.
Gold and silver became the trade of choice.
Barter ruled: rice, beans, medicine, even toilet paper had more value than a stack of cash.
Families who survived best had already stocked food and barter items before the shelves went bare.
Application for You:
👉 Store barterables (canned food, coffee, alcohol, ammo, toilet paper, OTC meds).
👉 Keep wealth in tangible assets (precious metals, storable goods).
Bosnia: When the War Came to the Streets
In the 1990s, Bosnia descended into chaos during the Balkan wars. Electricity failed. Clean water became rare. Cities turned into prisons. Neighbors turned on each other.
One survivor recalled:
“For one year we lived without electricity, running water, or food distribution. We had our garden, but it was never enough. Without ammo, you’re a dead man. Without food, you’re a hungry dead man.”
The Lesson: Collapse isn’t just inconvenience—it’s violence and scarcity.
Ammo was currency. Food, batteries, and candles were priceless.
Water was life. People risked their lives daily at public wells under sniper fire.
Community mattered. Lone wolves died. Families who teamed up with neighbors fared better.
Application for You:
👉 Secure multiple water sources (wells, rainwater catch, filters).
👉 Keep ammo and self-defense tools hidden but ready.
👉 Build trust networks now. When things get ugly, who will watch your six?
Cuba: The “Special Period” of Starvation
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba lost 80% of its imports. Fuel vanished. Tractors rusted in the fields. Food became scarce almost overnight.
Cubans adapted:
They turned every rooftop, balcony, and vacant lot into gardens.
Chickens, goats, and rabbits became lifelines.
Bikes replaced cars when gasoline ran out.
The Lesson: Food security is everything.
Governments will fail to feed you.
Supply chains break. Starvation doesn’t.
Those who grew food—even on a balcony—ate. Those who didn’t, begged.
Application for You:
👉 Start growing sprouts, leafy greens, container veggies now.
👉 Build a chicken coop for endless protein (eggs + meat).
👉 Learn to compost and build healthy soil—it’s your real long-term food supply.
The Big Picture
Collapse doesn’t look like Hollywood. It looks like:
Your money buying nothing.
Your neighbor eyeing your food.
Your children crying for water.
And you realizing no one is coming to help.
But collapse also reveals the survivors—the ones who prepared before the shelves emptied and the power grid blinked out.
From Venezuela: secure barter and real wealth.
From Bosnia: secure water, ammo, and community.
From Cuba: secure food at all costs.
Collapse is not a question of if. It’s a now just a matter of when and the gov’t know it. It’s why they already have a plan for themselves - and you’re not part of it.
When it comes, will you look back and wish you’d done more?
Or will you stand ready—food in your pantry, water in your barrels, ammo hidden, valuables secured—while others fight over scraps?
History has already shown us the script.
It’s up to you whether you’re the victim… or the survivor.
Stay sharp. Get prepped.
—George Shepherd
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Until next time… STAY PREPARED
Remember: The best time to prepare was yesterday. The second best time is now.
Forward this newsletter to fellow patriots who value self-reliance and preparation.
Stay vigilant, stay prepared, stay alive.
