Conservative Analysis of the Latest Developments in Venezuela

The United States military conducted a raid in Venezuela to facilitate the arrest by law enforcement officials of the Socialist dictator, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife and their extraction to America on federal narco-terrorism charges. There were scores of Venezuelan casualties, but only a few injuries for the American forces. De facto President Maduro and his co-defendants, who remain at large, were indicted by a federal grand jury in a superseding indictment, after he had been indicted by a federal grand jury in 2011 on drug charges. The recent charges are part of a series of charges against anti-American Socialist Venezuelan regime officials for drug trafficking for personal profit and ideological reasons and support of terrorists. The Socialist regime in the South American State had given support to Colombian Marxist narco-terrorists, namely the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, some of the factions of which are still fighting a guerilla war against Colombia, and the National Liberation Army, which is also still fighting. Both organizations or their factions that are still fighting have been designated by the U.S. as terrorist organizations. They both also derive income from drug trafficking, particularly of cocaine, of which Colombia is the world’s largest producer. As I have posted, the Venezuelan Socialist dictatorship was increasingly tyrannical after having first been elected popularly in 2000, which caused human rights abuses, poverty, shortages and corruption, forcing millions of Venezuelans to seek refugee elsewhere in Latin America or in America. Venezuela had also nationalized most of the assets of the oil industry operating there, including those owned by Americans. The Socialists regime made Venezuela a part of what I refer to as the Axis of Rogues, allying itself with Russia and Iran. The influence of Iran its Lebanese Shi’ite terrorist proxy, Hezbollah, in Venezuela was significant. Socialist Venezuela was also an ally of Communist Cuba, a state sponsor of terrorism. Therefore, the Trump Administration could have made a strong case for security reasons for military action against Venezuela, beyond the raid to arrest Maduro on federal narco-terrorism charges, but instead focused especially in its messaging on Venezuela’s oil, which appears to make the U.S. seem only economically self-interested, instead of motivated by principle. Trump’s argument was undermined further by his recent pardon of the former Honduran President who had been convicted of federal charges for drug charges for using his office to facilitate the shipment of drugs into America. Moreover, Trump left the Socialist regime in place, even though the Socialist dictatorship under Maduro and his successor is not the legitimate government of Venezuela, as they were elected and re-elected in fraudulent elections not recognized by many Latin American States, the U.S., and many of its Western allies, many of which recognize the center-right opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, as the president-elect. Gonzalez was forced into exile in Spain, however. Trump expressly discouraged the conservative opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, whom the Socialist dictatorship had barred from holding public office, from taking power, or at least to facilitate Gonzalez’s return. Although the new Venezuelan de facto President freed some of the many political prisoners, particularly some with foreign citizenship, dissent is still not tolerated by the Socialist regime. It was just that Maduro and his wife were arrested and will face federal charges, but it remains unclear if any strategic change will occur, either domestically in Venezuela or internationally, while American prestige was vulnerable to question because of Trump’s poor messaging and inconsistency. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues its attacks on what it claims are suspected drug trafficking boats, which has raised legal concerns, and its blockade on sanctioned merchant ships from Venezuela, which it has been seizing. It is hoped the raid somehow would weaken the Socialists’ grip on Venezuela, or at least deter their drug dealing support for narco-terrorists. But a more concerted action by the U.S., including Congress, and its international allies, together with the opposition and the de jure President Gonzalez, would be necessary to free Venezuela from tyranny and deprive Axis of Rogues of a key ally.