“This year and to honor you all, to thank you all, I am going to decree the beginning of Christmas on October 1. Christmas arrived for everyone, in peace, joy and security!” he said.
Thank you President Maduro. This really happened today, September 4. The Venezuelan Episcopal Conference on Tuesday protested the unilateral acceleration of Christmas, warning that the holiday “is not to be used for political or propaganda goals.” “Christmas commences on December 25,” it said in a statement.
In Part I, I covered the seizure of Maduro’s plane and Maduro’s accusation of piracy. Nicolas Maduro stole democracy and destroyed the economy of Venezuela. He is the much larger pirate.
Both the judiciary and legislature fear Maduros. The arrest warrant for the Presidential candidate, Edmund Gonzalez is an attempt to silence the main opposition party, Plataforma Unitaria Democrática (PUD).
The first opposition candidate, Maria Carine Machado, was ruled ineligible to run as candidate by the Venezuelan Supreme Court, which is compliant with Maduros regime and suppression of democracy. Bit by bit, the populace has grown fearful of Maduro and his suppression of free speech.
On 1 August 2024, Machado published a letter in The Wall Street Journal, stating that she had gone in to hiding “fearing for my life, my freedom, and that of my fellow countrymen from the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro.”
Link: A virtual conversation with María Corina Machado on the way forward for democracy in Venezuela.
It was a wonderful chance to revive democracy. But this chance is gone.
The Biden administration tried to strike a deal with Maduro, of freeing Americans held in Venezuela, and conducting fair elections in return for easing sanctions on the export of oil to US refineries, referred to as the Barbados agreement. A prisoner swap occurred in December 2023. Presidential elections were scheduled.
Link: US resumes talks with Venezuela, pushes for fair July 28 election
This new approach failed on April 17, 2024 when the Supreme Court ruled that Maria Carine Machado could not run for the presidency. The US re-imposed sanctions, but allowed the international oil companies to continue to operate (Chevron, Repsol and others) using waivers from sanctions. I think with the arrest warrant for Edmund Gonzalez, these waivers will soon be gone.
The article below describes their exodus to neighboring countries. It also describes the dynamics of a petrostate, where the country is very dependent on a single resource namely oil.Eight million Venezuelans have left the country. With a massively corrupt government, and little chance that dictator Maduro would do anything, but make things worse, it is no wonder that the brightest and most ambitious look to leave their country.
Venezuela: The Rise and Fall of a Petrostate
One excellent step, undertaken by the Department of Justice during the Trump administration, in year 2020, was to indict Nicolas Maduro and 14 other officials of narco-terrorism, corruption, drug trafficking and other criminal charges. In announcing the indictment, AG William Barr referred to Maduro as the former president of Venezuela, because on January 23, 2019, Juan Guaido was elected by the legislature as the interim president, and quickly recognized by over 60 countries. This didn’t last, and by 2021, EU countries and the US reluctantly recognized Nicolas Maduro as president.
“Today we announce criminal charges against Nicolás Maduro Moros for running, together with his top lieutenants, a narco-terrorism partnership with the FARC for the past 20 years,” said U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman.
FARC is a rebel group within Colombia, financed by drug trafficking, kidnapping and extortion. FARC still exists and given the dire situation in Venezuela, I have no doubt Maduro would have little to lose from collaborating with them in opioid drug distribution, particularly from Brazil to Europe.
FARC: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_Armed_Forces_of_Colombia
The US has been on the side of Colombia in their decades long fight against FARC. Not only did they receive help from their South American neighbor, Venezuela, but Libya’s dictator Gaddafi was sending them millions of dollars until he was killed in the Libyan civil war in 2011.
See link: Gaddafi’s death setback for FARC: Santos
Back to the current problems in Venezuela. Maduro can try to change Christmas to October, but really there is no Christmas in Venezuela, after he stole the election. There is reliable evidence of a rigged election:
Academics, news outlets and the opposition provided “strong evidence” according to The Guardian[11] to suggest that González won the election by a wide margin,[12][13] with the opposition releasing copies of official tally sheets collected by poll watchers from a majority of polling centers showing a landslide victory for González.
And he is prepared to lock up those who accuse him of stealing the election.
Link: Wikipedia, Venezuelan 2024 Election
Link: Venezuela’s ‘little commandos’ took on Maduro. Now they may be leading a new wave of migration
Link: US State Department condemns election
The US statement was very cautious, but this was a few days before the arrest warrant was issued for Edmund Gonzalez. Still, it supported the people of Venezuela instead of the “elected” president:
The United States applauds the courage and resilience of the millions of Venezuelans who voted and who continue to peacefully call for Maduro to acknowledge that Edmundo González Urrutia received the most votes.
Approximately 2,400 people have been arrested. On August 15, Maduro’s supporters in the National Assembly passed a law that grants the government broad powers to control and shut down nongovernmental organizations.
See link: Venezuela: Brutal Crackdown on Protesters, Voters. Killings, Mass Arrests Following Elections
The Petrostate in collapse
Venezuela produces approximately 800,000 barrels per day of heavy oil. They need to import a diluent (heavy naphtha) to pump the oil through pipelines and into tankers. So, I believe the US and other countries will increase sanctions against oil exports and naphtha imports.
Latest News is troubling
Venezuela has claimed that it is entitled to about 2/3 of Guyana, which I investigated in Feb 2024:
As reported on September 4, Guyana discovered 4.4 tons of cocaine in a very remote area of Guyana, close to the Venezuelan border. There was a landing strip constructed by the smugglers. Days earlier, a large fuel depot. Guyana is neither the source nor the destination of this cocaine, but transhipment point. From Guyana, the cocaine could be smuggled to Brazil, to be sold in Europe. Or perhaps destined for the US.
I am wondering if Maduro administration is involved in this activity. Mathews Ridge is definitely in the area that Maduro claims belongs to Venezuela.
Sept 4 Link: 4.4 tons of cocaine found at Matthews Ridge – one man arrested, several escaped
I am following this story closely. A senior policeman from Guyana was connect to this drug bust.
Going forward
It would only be Christmas in Venezuela if Maduro left in October. The country will suffer, until there is real change in the country. The rest of the countries will absorb the Venezuelans escaping the chaos. I hope Venezuelans never give up fighting to restore their democracy.
Unfortunately, even with sanctions and condemnations of the rest of the world, Maduro will be a menace for his people, and many other countries.
Stay tuned,
Dave
news and views 
While the government refuses to provide a breakdown of the voting, the opponents of Maduro, have been able to secure most of the voting tallies, which show Edmund Gonzalez won 67% of the vote.
https://resultadosconvzla.com/
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