It is hard to tell who is worse: Nicolas Maduro or Donald Trump. They each utter so many ludicrous statements that it seems like they are competing for the most absurd comment. Today they come out saying one thing, tomorrow the opposite; they have no idea how the universe works but, even then, believe themselves the center of it. They are pathetic.
Both Maduro and Trump parachuted into their respective presidencies, without knowing what the hell they are supposed to be doing in such an important position. They both want to fight with their neighbors; they rail against international institutions like the U.N., NATO, the OAS, etc.; they threaten other countries with war; and when they try to show their teeth, they end up showing their true colors. They both foment hate toward those who think differently than they do, make appointments, and crown themselves as saviors. To conclude, I insist: They are pathetic.
The most recent confirmation of this came at the end of last week, when Trump − in another attack of verbal diarrhea − insinuated that he was not ruling out the possibility of a U.S. military intervention to deal with the crisis in Venezuela. His proposal was well received by war hawks, whose mouths started to water when they remembered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Of course, it would have been a ridiculous and dangerous decision on all counts, because it would have been like trying to extinguish a fire with gasoline. Given the countless offenses against democracy that we are currently observing in the major cities of our neighboring country, can you imagine the chaos that would be wrought if the marines arrived to "fix" things?
As a historical fact, we are reminded that hundreds of Panamanians lost their lives in the operation against Manuel Noriega − the most conservative estimates place the total number of deaths at 600, and some organizations have calculated that there were more than 4,000. And if we consider as well the chaos, looting, and vandalism that reigned in the street, what some might see as a solution for Venezuela would actually be a bloodbath of an incalculable scale.
Even though Trump should know that a military intervention in Latin America isn't viable, his verbal incontinence has given Maduro fuel with which to ignite his nationalistic arguments and to assume the role of victim. Thanks to Mr. President's escalation, the Venezuelan despot has found the perfect excuse to gather his troops behind an "anti-Yankee" war banner, holding civic-military exercises at the end of August "to defend the homeland" from foreign aggression.
And in the middle of this exchange of threats and counterthreats, the gringo vice-president, Mike Pence, visited Cartagena, where Juan Manuel Santos, the recent recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize, told him very clearly that Latin America does not need to begin new conflicts, but rather, to extinguish old ones. His position has been echoed by various other presidents in the region, from Chile to Mexico, who rejected an armed response to the problems in Venezuela, in an attitude that has given new breath to the Bolivarian regime.
In summary, Trump's boasts accomplish nothing, except for feeding Maduro's boasts, which are also useless. On the other hand, they certainly come in handy when it comes to capturing the attention of the press. Let the devil come in and choose.
To conclude: There are many who praise the fact that Pence has firmly stated that the United States is not willing to accept a dictatorship in this hemisphere. What a pity that the vice president doesn't feel the same vehemence when it comes to fighting regimes like those in the Arabian Peninsula or in China, whose leaders respect neither human rights nor the individual liberties of their citizens. The writing is on the wall.
No se sabe quién es peor: si Nicolás Maduro o Donald Trump. Cada uno dice tal cantidad de sandeces que parece que compitieran por el comentario más absurdo. Hoy salen con una cosa, mañana se contradicen; no tienen idea de cómo funciona el mundo, el Estado, nada, pero, aun así, se creen el ombligo del universo. Son patéticos.
Tanto Maduro como Trump llegaron a la presidencia de sus respectivos países en paracaídas, sin saber qué diablos tocaba hacer en un cargo tan importante. Ambos quieren pelear con sus vecinos, despotrican contra los organismos internacionales como la ONU, la Otán, la OEA, etcétera; amenazan con guerras y cuando quieren pelar los dientes en realidad pelan el cobre. Uno y otro estimulan el odio hacia quienes no piensan como ellos; hacen señalamientos; se autodenominan salvadores; en fin... Insisto: patéticos.
La nueva confirmación de esto la estamos viendo desde el fin de semana, luego de que Trump –en otro ataque de verborrea– insinuó que no descartaba una intervención militar de Estados Unidos para resolver la crisis en Venezuela; propuesta aplaudida por los belicistas de siempre, a quienes se les hacía agua la boca recordando la invasión de Panamá en 1989. Por supuesto, se trataría de una decisión ridícula y peligrosa a todas luces, pues sería como tratar de apagar el fuego con gasolina. Si en las actuales circunstancias vemos innumerables desmanes en las principales ciudades del vecino país, ¿se imaginan el caos que se desataría en caso de que los marines llegaran a ‘arreglar’ las cosas?
Como dato histórico, recordemos que en la operación contra Noriega perdieron la vida centenares de panameños –las cifras más moderadas hablan de 600 muertos y algunas organizaciones calculan que hubo más de 4.000–. Y si a eso sumamos el desmadre que se apoderó de las calles, con saqueos y vandalismo incluidos, lo que algunos ven como una solución para Venezuela sería una verdadera hecatombe con un derramamiento de sangre de proporciones incalculables.
Pese a que Trump debe saber que hoy por hoy no es viable una acción de sus tropas en América Latina, su incontinencia verbal pudo más y con sus declaraciones le dio combustible a Maduro para agitar las banderas nacionalistas y asumir el papel de víctima del imperio. Gracias a esta calentura de Mr. President, el sátrapa venezolano ha encontrado la disculpa perfecta para dedicarse a arengar a sus huestes con el caballito de batalla antiyanqui y para convocar a toda la población a participar a finales de agosto en unos ejercicios cívico-militares dizque para “defender la Patria” de la agresión.
Y en medio de este mano a mano de amenazas y contraamenazas, pasó por Cartagena el vicepresidente gringo, Mike Pence, con quien Juan Manuel Santos estrenó su Nobel de Paz para dejarle en claro que América Latina no necesita iniciar nuevos conflictos sino apagar viejas guerras; posición que ha sido secundada por varios presidentes de la región, desde Chile hasta México, que rechazan una respuesta armada para sacar de aprietos a los venezolanos, en una actitud que le ha dado nuevo oxígeno al régimen bolivariano.
En resumen, las bravuconadas de Trump no sirven para nada, excepto para alimentar las bravuconadas de Maduro, que también son inútiles. Pero, eso sí, a ambos les resultan muy útiles para mojar prensa. Que entre el diablo y escoja.
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Colofón. Muchos aplauden el hecho de que Mike Pence reitere con firmeza que Estados Unidos no va a aceptar una dictadura en el hemisferio. Lástima que el Vicepresidente no se manifieste con esa misma vehemencia contra regímenes como los de Arabia o China, cuyos líderes no se distinguen por respetar los derechos humanos ni las libertades individuales de sus ciudadanos. El mono sabe en qué palo trepa.
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[T]he Republican president managed to make the meeting revolve around his interests — the debate about the 5% — and left out ... the White House’s attitude toward the Kremlin.
U.S. companies, importers and retailers will bear the initial costs which most economists expect to filter through the supply chain as a cost-push inflation.