Nicolas Maduro, President of Venezuela, accused the United States of piracy, because we took his plane, which was undergoing maintenance in Dominican Republic. In particular, he attacked Attorney General Merrick Garland. It was obviously embarrassing to Maduro. Purchase of the plane was done through a “shell company” to get around US sanctions. Kudos go to all the agencies involved, particularly the State Department, which had to get the approval from Dominican Republic and the Department of Homeland Security under the leadership of Alejandro Mayorkas.

The accomplices to the repossession, the Dominican Republic, are likely very happy to accomodate the US as they have been absorbing the exodus from Venezuela for years. DR is not paradise, as it seems to take a beating with every hurricane, but it’s better than the repressive regime of Maduro.

See Link: Exclusive: US seizes Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro’s airplane in the Dominican Republic

The Department of Homeland Security also is to be congratulated. Excerpt from CNN link:

For years, US officials have sought to disrupt the flow of billions of dollars to the regime. Homeland Security Investigations — the second largest investigative agency in the federal government — has seized dozens of luxury vehicles, among other assets, heading to Venezuela.

The economic sanctions against Venezuela, have a long history. The U.S. has been concerned about Venezuelan narcotics trafficking since 2005 and its lack of cooperation in combatting terrorism since 2006.

See link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctions_during_the_Venezuelan_crisis

Venezuela’s President Maduro looks for some legitimacy, but his government thrives on corruption, and the July 28 election is being widely condemned as fraudulent.

Following the announcement by Venezuelan authorities that Maduro had won the 28 July 2024 presidential election, condemned as fraudulent, Reuters reported on 21 August 2024 that the U.S. Treasury Department had submitted to the State Department a list of 60 individuals and their family members—particularly those from the National Electoral Council (CNE) and the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ)—for possible sanctions.

The Maduro regime refuses to release the official tallies of the election. I imagine there are some extremely brave Venezuelans who just will not sign off on false tallies.

So, the attorney general of Venezuela is having the opposition candidate thrown in jail. That’s what dictators do when they lose an election.

Venezuela’s attorney general’s office said on Monday a court has issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, accusing him of conspiracy and other crimes amid a dispute over whether he or President Nicolas Maduro won a July election.

Venezuela’s economy is in shambles. Oil production is now well under a million barrels per day, about 1/3 of its production, a decade before. Oil is the life blood of the Venezuelan economy. In many countries, the rich get richer. In Venezuela, to become rich, they first have to kiss up to the president and his party. Corruption breeds corruption.

Unfortunately, it will get worse before it gets better. Maduro lost his plane. Venezuela lost its democracy and economy. Just who are the pirates?

Stay tuned,

Dave