The ban on Russian oil due to Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine has cracked open the door for another bully in our own neighborhood. Venezuela’s feared dictator Nicolas Maduro, one of Putin’s most loyal friends, is also reeling from U.S. sanctions. But is a deal brewing with the Biden administration that will make Maduro’s regime look more legit?
While Joe was pondering whether or not to block Putin’s oil vs. rising prices at the gas pumps, a hushed up delegation of high ranking American officials were meeting in Venezuela with Maduro instead of Juan Guaido, recognized by the Trump White House and most of the world as the republic’s real president. Those gentlemen would like you to believe that they were in Caracas to lobby for the release of the Citgo 6 and other American political prisoners. Those discussions were definitely on the table, but the delegation also hinted that any cooperation could lead to a reduction of sanctions against the South American OPEC member. The strategy worked, although falling short of expectations.
The Citgo 6 were a group of executives from the U.S. division of the corporation based in Houston, although the parent company, PDVSA, is owned by Venezuela. With the state oil giant heavily in debt, the men were lured to Caracas for an urgent business meeting in November of 2017, but were instead immediately arrested by masked officers and hauled off to jail on corruption charges. Since then they have been used as political pawns, going back and forth from house arrest to prison as directed by Maduro.
The entourage was able to win the release of one of the executives, however. along with a Cuban-American detained last year for flying a private drone. The lucky Citgo hostage was Gustavo Cardenas, now back home in Katy, Texas after losing 80 pounds while in custody for four years.
“This terrible situation has caused a lot of suffering and pain, much more than I can explain with my own words,” admits Cardenas, a father of three. “The nightmare for me and my family has ended after 1,750 days of wrongful captivity, and I’m grateful for the special envoy who assisted with my release.”
Nicolas Maduro may not be the sharpest tool in the shed. Far from it. That said, he’s smart enough to know that holding on to four “hostages” and two ex-Green Berets who screwed up tip the leverage in his favor. If we’re going to get the rest of these people home, Joe and Kamala should stay out of this mess and let experienced diplomats like former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson and his colleagues continue to handle the negotiations.
Look, we’ve let Russia and China infiltrate our back yard for far too long. We need to let our friends in Latin America know that we have their backs, and that criminals like Maduro and Daniel Ortega are only out for their own personal interests. It’s time to expose them for who they are. That’s not nation building. It’s weeding out the bad guys to insure that democracy has a chance to prevail in our hemisphere, and also in Ukraine half a world away.
The mass human exodus we are witnessing from Ukraine to Poland and surrounding countries is heart-breaking…mostly women and children in harm’s way. But isn’t that the same scenario we’ve seen over the last three years at our own southern border with Mexico? No bombings, although plenty of gangland murders, kidnappings, extortion, and drug wars. Wake up, folks. Let’s help the oppressed and reject the oppressors. Make your voice heard loud and clear.
