Nicolás Maduro: This is what the United States has against him

Two pieces of news suddenly crossed paths last week. Nicolás Maduro reported with great fanfare on his presence at the Celac summit in Argentina, while the continent’s left announced that it intended to welcome him on that stage with open arms. Argentine President Alberto Fernández said Maduro was “more than invited” to his country. At the same time, the Venezuelan leader being questioned received a serious blow in the United States: his arrest was formally requested before the DEA and he received a harsh sentence from a Florida judge. The next day, Maduro canceled his attendance at that event in Argentina despite having a confirmed agenda that included meetings with other leaders.

The turnaround after applying to the DEA was obvious. As Patricia Bullrich, President of the PRO Argentina party, who requested the measure, so nicely said, “there is a request to arrest Maduro for his involvement in the Cartel de los Soles” and Argentina has had a judicial cooperation agreement with the United States since 1998 States Bullrich He recalled that Augusto Pinochet had been arrested in 1998 in a similar situation on a trip to London.

“In the last few hours we have been irrefutably informed of a plan drawn up within the neo-fascist right, the aim of which is to carry out a series of aggressive actions against our delegation, led by the President of the Republic.”, attacked the Venezuelan leader to justify what was obvious: he was fleeing a dangerous scenario. “I think Maduro thought it was better to play it safe. At best, there would have been huge street protests,” says former Foreign Minister Julio Londoño Paredes.

Argentine President Alberto Fernández said Maduro was “more than invited” to his country. However, Maduro canceled his visit at the last minute. – Photo: Getty Images/Bloomberg

“They intend to put on a regrettable ‘show’ to disrupt the positive impact of such an important regional event.”the Seventh Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, “thereby contributing to the – already unsuccessful – discrediting campaign launched against our country by the North American Empire.”he added.

The reality is that Maduro has two “coconuts”: the United States and the International Criminal Court (ICC), but only the first one really scares him. For years, the ICC has barely won indictments against African leaders and is not expected to open a chapter in Latin America any time soon. But in the land of Uncle Sam, things have a different price.

Former US Attorney General William Barr filed serious charges against him in 2020. The document treats the Venezuelan president as a major criminal, even giving him a number: $15 million for his capture. Because of this, Maduro has lived in isolation for the past decade.

The allegations are very serious. The North American country accuses Maduro of conspiring with the Colombian guerrillas to “flood the United States with cocaine” and using drug sales “as a weapon against” that country. The 28-page document not only targets the president, but 14 others, including Diosdado Cabello, ex-Venezuelan general Hugo Carvajal and the leaders of the ex-FARC, who instigated the process and created some dissidences : Ivan Marquez and Jesus Santrich.

Since Joe Biden came to power, Uncle Sam’s relations with the continent’s most radical left have improved – photo: guillermo torres-semana

At the time, the US judiciary considered that the FARC was the world’s largest producer of cocaine and that Venezuela was a part of this network, whose main purpose was to reach their country. For example, they calculated that “between 200 and 250 tons of cocaine were shipped out of Venezuela via these routes. Those 250 tons equal 30 million lethal doses.”

Maduro and his “combo” have been accused of forming a cartel they dubbed the Cartel of Suns, in reference to the insignia worn by senior Venezuelan soldiers on their uniforms. The US judiciary therefore accused the Venezuelan regime of using its military power to promote drug terrorism for its own benefit and to the detriment of the rest of the world. It detailed the events between 1990 and 2020 that proved “a corrupt, violent and narco-terrorist conspiracy between the Cartel de los Soles and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)”.

Iván Márquez, leader of the dissident FARC of the Second Marquetalia, has been extradited by the United States for drug trafficking. His only way will be to submit to justice. – Photo: afp

In the midst of this conspiracy, Maduro would have decided to leave the border with Venezuela open so that drug trafficking could be carried out unhindered. The indictment tells how the military and the judiciary have supported or ignored the criminal power of the cartels. For example, the Venezuelan regime is said to be allowing drug-carrying planes to pass in exchange for very large bribes in a system run by General Vladimir Padrino López.

When they didn’t pay, Venezuela confiscated the plane. If the trial resulted in a verdict, the penalties would be very severe. The indictment said they faced between 50 years in prison and life imprisonment.

This week, a Florida judge handed down a severe sentence for torturing and sentenced to a long, unjust prison term for lawyer Carlos Marrón, a Venezuelan accused by the regime of being a “financial terrorist” against the Maduro government. In his ruling, the judge ensures that the President leads the dreaded Cartel de los Soles, in which the regime’s leaders “exchange drugs for cash” and “the cash allows the accused to stay in power in Venezuela (…), that they use to kidnap and torture dissidents.” He ended up awarding Marrón $153 million in compensation.

But for the United States to prosecute Maduro, to the point of capturing him in Argentina, is not necessarily a priority or a strategic decision. Since Joe Biden came to power, Uncle Sam’s relations with the continent’s most radical left have improved. This week, for example, it became known how discreetly Cuba is proceeding in a thaw. And there are very obvious signs of this shift. For example The United States has reopened the consulate in Havana, which has made work permits for Cubans in that country more flexible and even allowed companies like Western Union to make wire transfers to the island.

Things are more complex with Venezuela, but they also happened. “Since President Biden came to power, the administration has shown some openness to rapprochement with Venezuela in exchange for democratic liberalization, in part because some U.S. officials believe a purely hard-line approach has failed to end the Nicolás- dissuade the Maduro government from autocracy,” reads an article in the New York Times.

Since Joe Biden came to power, Uncle Sam’s relations with the continent’s most radical left have improved – Photo: Getty Images / Alex Wong

Global tensions with Russia make it difficult to pursue Venezuela, since so many Western countries need oil supplies. The country is also amazed at the excessive surge in migrants entering its country and has taken action. In October last year he presented a policy allowing the entry of 24,000 Venezuelans. In January it was expanded to include Cubans, Nicaraguans and Haitians.

On the other hand, a turning point happened three weeks ago. The Venezuelan opposition dissolved the interim government led by Juan Guaidó. The United States was emphatic. He assured that his position on Nicolás Maduro “will not change” and that he is “not the legitimate leader of Venezuela”. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby added that his country recognizes the National Assembly established in 2015 “as the last remaining democratic institution there”.

Maduro continues to be persecuted and protected in this way, and his interest in touring the continent is waning again.