Obama vs. Maduro: The Secret History of an Inevitable Conflict

Barack Obama recently stated that Venezuela’s regime was a danger to national security. Why? Because it violated the human rights of the democratic opposition. In consequence, Obama issued various sanctions against Chavist officials and dignitaries.

A strange decision. He ordered these sanctions a few weeks after initiating the repeal of sanctions against the Cuban dictator, who, for more than half a century, has mistreated dissidents with the same, or more, cruelty than Nicolás Maduro’s government treats its bruised opposition.

However, Cuba is the origin of the problem. Venezuela behaves in this manner because its Cuban advisers tell it to do so. Cuba sells its expertise to Venezuela: intelligence, social control and a firm-handed government. The Cubans are the world´s greatest cage builders. They learned the technique from the Soviets and then surpassed them.

Naturally, Fidel and Raúl Castro immediately delivered a passionate defense of Chavism. Playing with your food is forbidden. The Castros know perfectly well that the $13 billion they receive annually in subsidies, aid and businesses from their political colony is more valuable than the recent visits and promises of the United States.

The official Cuban correspondence proclaimed that “Venezuela is not alone.” This statement means, according to Cuban code, that if it comes to combat, soldiers from the Cuban homeland will be there.

Of course, those are linguistic tricks. Gestures for the gallery. The Castros know that the United States has no interest in resorting to violence to defeat Chavism. No one is going to invade Venezuela.

What is often ignored is the reason why Obama took the controversial step to create a nationalist pretext for Maduro, increase repression and awaken Latin America´s hornet nest. That reason needs to be explained.

Venezuela poses a risk to U.S. national security not for human rights violations — that was just the excuse — but rather for three activities that are coded into the doctrinal definition of where or how danger exists to North American society.

Whoever wants to understand the vision that prevails in Washington should read the book “Reconceptualizing Security in the Americas in the 21st Century” and the chapter “Venezuela: Trends in Organized Crime” written by the analyst Joseph M. Humire.

Chavism has crossed three red lines.

The first is Venezuela´s complicity with Islamic terrorists in Iran. Tareck El Aissami, ex-minister of the interior, is the governor of Aragua and leader of the Ayatollahs in Tehran. He has used his office to create a regional terrorist network fed by drug trafficking. Iran dreams of making him the Venezuelan president.

The second line violated by Chavism is drug trafficking. Many Venezuelan generals are deeply involved in that business. Of the 700 tons of cocaine that are produced annually in the world, 300 pass through Venezuela to Europe via Africa or to the USA via Central America. Diosdado Cabello, president of the Venezuelan parliament, has been accused of running the Soles Cartel.

The third line is the immense amount of money laundering. Most of the crooked deals, including bond emissions, take place at Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., Venezuela´s state oil company. More than a company, it acts like Ali Baba’s cave — only with more than 40 thieves. The money laundered at PDVSA is used to corrupt politicians, buy influence and pay for criminals´ services.

The White House is familiar with all this information. Diplomats, intelligence services and defectors have already told them. Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration interrogated Walid Makled García, a Venezuelan drug lord of Pablo Escober´s proportions, before his Colombian captors deported him to Venezuela.

The Turk, as he is called, told everything. Subsequently, Leamsy Salazar, right hand for Diosdado Cabello and Hugo Chavez, recently received asylum in North American territory, corroborated García’s information and added new details. The White House could no longer continue saying that Venezuela is just a nuisance, not a danger.

Venezuela is a real risk to the security of the USA and the hemisphere. Obama’s error was not confronting his enemy, but rather choosing an indirect accusation and formulating it poorly so that no one understood him. He wanted to please everyone, but he did exactly the opposite. A shame.