Foreign Digest: North Macedonia and Venezuela

North Macedonia

            North Macedonia, has been admitted to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, becoming the defense pact’s 30th member.  The admission of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia had been blocked by N.A.T.O. member Greece, which had objected to its name that was homologous with that of the Hellenic Republic’s northernmost province, which caused the Greeks to fear separatism there.  A plebiscite last year approved the name change, despite interference by the Russian Federation, led by tyrant Vladimir Putin, which opposes the Western Alliance.  North Macedonia was also able to join the European Union after many years of being blocked.

Venezuela

            The United States announced federal charges late last week against Venezuelan Socialist dictator Nicholas Maduro for drug trafficking.  The charges are not surprising as the Socialist regime had previously aided the Colombian narco-terrorist Marxist rebels and is an ally of Cuba, which also engages in drug trafficking.  The United States, like many Latin American and Western governments, does not recognize him as the legitimate president, recognizing instead the democratic opposition leader in the national assembly, Juan Guaido, who had invoked a constitutional provision to declare himself president because Maduro had supplanted the assembly with another body.  Guaido today called for the establishment of a national emergency government backed by international loans to fight the coronavirus 2019.  Meanwhile, a Venezuelan general is in American custody after surrendering in Colombia on charges of being a co-conspirator to Maduro.

          The de facto president of Venezuela is the first head of state or government to be charged by the U.S. since Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega.  After Noriega overturned democratic elections to remain in power and killed an American Marine, the U.S. invoked its treaty to protect the Panama Canal and liberated Panama in 1989, which has enjoyed representative government and liberty ever since.