.. by US defender of dictators Donald Trump. He addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos today. Trump backed off tariffs against the EU over his hope to attain control over Greenland; after talking to EU representatives and observing US stock market results yesterday.
Trump declared Venezuela open for business. He hopes to lure foreign investors into oil production in Venezuela. Some companies are skeptical of the heavy oil, real reserves and the government in the country; the same that was in charge when they sacrificed Nicolas Maduro to save face and stop the pro democracy movement.
This is really the bigger problem. Is it moral for the US to do business with Venezuela after the Trump regime provided the Chavistas with an external threat to emasculate the democratic protests that were the biggest thing in Venezuela prior?
Hugo Chavez and Maduro loyalist Delcy Rodriguez has stepped in as the new president. One of the real power movers in the government is Diosdado Cabello, the Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace since 2024. Cabello has served as president, speaker of the National Assembly and was a military officer who helped Chavez during his coup attempt.
Cabello has been accused by Venezuelan defectors and pro-opposition media of being a major figure in the Cartel of the Suns, using nepotism to reward friends and family members and directing colectivos while paying them with funds from Petróleos de Venezuela. In 2013, there were at least 17 formal corruption allegations lodged against Cabello in Venezuela’s prosecutors office. On 26 March 2020, the U.S. Department of State offered $10 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction by the US in relation to drug trafficking and narco-terrorism. Cabello was described in 2013 as the second most powerful man in Venezuela. Reuters wrote in 2012 that he possessed significant “sway with the military and lawmakers plus close links to businessmen” Wikipedia
Trump has signaled there may be a role for Nobel Prize Winner Maria Machado in the new, that is to say the same old, Venezuelan government. Let’s hope she passes (4dforum).
Did you know? In mid-July 2017, reporters in Washington, D.C. observed an increased security presence surrounding Senator Marco Rubio. On 13 August 2017, The Miami Herald reported that a US Department of Homeland Security memo alleged that Cabello may have initiated an assassination plot targeting Rubio, and may have contacted “unspecified Mexican nationals” to discuss killing Rubio. Cabello is a strong critic of Rubio, whom he dubbed “Narco Rubio”. Wikipedia
There has been no change in the government of Venezuela, it’s the same dictatorship putting on fresh make up.
If this were a democratic transition, power would be moving outward, toward institutions, parties, and voters. We would have seen the unconditional release of political prisoners. The winners of the July 28 election would not be calling for international protests demanding that their victory be respected. Instead, power has moved sideways and downward. The most visible winners of the post-Maduro moment are not opposition leaders, but many of Maduro’s former allies. Caracas Chronicles
- Why You Should Be Skeptical About Venezuela’s Oil Reserves Forbes
- Big Oil’s Complicated Calculus for Investing in Venezuela NY Times
- Exclusive: Trump Wants Exxon In Venezuela, But This Oil Vet Says Only ‘Tokenization’ Of Barrels Will Make It Safe Benzinga on Yahoo Finance
- Venezuela: Maduro’s enforcer Cabello still central to power NPR
- Why Venezuela Cannot Hold Free Elections Today Caracas Chronicles
- The Traps of Waiting for Political Change under Delcy Rodríguez Caracas Chronicles