Carlos Sanchez Berzain Abogado | Estadista | Político | Politólogo
Carlos Sánchez Berzaín
may 16, 2017
(Interamerican Institute for Democracy) In one of the toughest phases of the Venezuelan’s fight to recover their freedom, when the irresistible force of reason confronts against the apparently unmovable dictatorship that uses violence and deception as its primary means to defend that which is unsustainable, there is no doubt Venezuelans will persevere until Nicolas Maduro leaves the government. On the basis of this reality, the status quo is not an option and the possible scenarios are; the end of the dictatorial regime, or the deepening of the dictatorship. With the victory of democracy all nations throughout the Americas will win, but if the dictatorship remains -even temporarily- the threat against the region’s security will have taken hold, but mainly against the United States. Venezuela’s dictatorship is a matter of national security for the U.S.
Just about everyone has been touched by the Venezuelan crisis. It has resulted in uncountable statements and declarations of concern, solidarity and the taking of sides. Internally, the great majority of Venezuelans demand Maduro’s exit and an end to the dictatorial regime, a government that; has been reduced to the minimum expression of popular support, has been para-militarized, that executes the Castroist strategy of “winning time, dividing the opposition, and managing fear”.
Internationally, Venezuela’s dictatorship has the open support of the 21st Century Socialism’s dictatorships from Cuba, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Nicaragua and of their international allies –not precisely democratic- Russia, Iran, North Korea, China, all linked by the Cuban dictatorship. A block of countries for whom Maduro’s fall is damaging because they would lose power, wealth, and geopolitical influence. This is a group that is self-proclaimed anti-imperialist and enemy of the United States. The importance of Venezuela for this group deals directly with its international weight, its institutionalized corruption, narcotics trafficking, the links with Islamic terrorism and the migratory pressures against the U.S.
Another international support group of Venezuela’s dictatorship is comprised by Petrocaribe’s “controlled countries” that for economic reasons support the dictatorship. They are in need of oil for their survival and because of their dependence and poverty they support the dictatorship moved by Venezuela’s oil resources. The paradox here is that the very wealth of Venezuela is used to sustain the oppression against Venezuelans.
The threat of a Petrocaribe’s crisis is one of the weapons that Castroists use to sustain Maduro’s regime not only against its member states but also against the U.S., a country that would endure migratory and economic pressure and seek alternatives to Venezuelan oil if this were to happen. For the majority of Petrocaribe’s countries to have an opportunity to regain their independence from the dictatorships they need a political option, a bridge that will replace the extortion they now suffer and will allow them to see a future of foreign relations with dignity and stability with a democratic Venezuela that will honor the relationship but to defend democracy and not to sustain dictatorships like the one in Cuba.
The Vatican has remained among those surreptitious supporters of the dictatorship backing the use of a group of mediators with dubious impartiality with Maduro and partaking of the “dictatorial dialogue” game as a means to “win time”. The dialogue trick has caused the discrediting of the National Assembly’s efforts that has waisted more than a year on the matter, dodged the elections for Governors, and the possibility -already overcome- of general elections, divide the opposition with differentiated treatment for political prisoners, to maintain in existence and exercise the dictator’s power recognizing it as the government, without any benefit for the Venezuelan people.
Of the triple power the Pope has; as a Pastor (spiritual guide for the Catholics), Pontiff (Guide for the Catholic Church), and Head of State (Head of the State of the Vatican) we now see the Vatican’s Head of State seriously committed in favor of the region’s dictatorial agenda while Venezuela’s catholic church through the Episcopal Conference, its bishops and the Catholic people openly support the democratic cause and demand an end of the Castroist dictatorial regime.
Peru, Costa Rica, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, and Paraguay have openly expressed to be against Venezuela’s dictatorship and have received warnings such as the threat from Maduro to the President of Colombia to “reveal all details of the peace accord with the FARC”, or the rebirthing of the guerrilla insurgency in the high plateaus of Peru -that can only be sustained from Bolivia with Evo Morales’ dictatorship- or the street styled pressure of the Kirchner’s supporters against Macri in Argentina. The government from Panama is noteworthy because while it appears to be neutral, it backs all positions taken by the Castroists.
In this scenario, the U.S. has identified members of Maduro’s dictatorship as being involved in narcotics trafficking, has opened investigations, and it keeps in suspense what its foreign policy with Cuba will be. The U.S. Government does not seem to have perceived as a Castroist undertaking the danger of everything aimed at consolidating Venezuela’s dictatorship to confront, weaken, and eventually attack the United States.
It is all about consolidating a second Castroist styled dictatorship in Venezuela in the 21st Century. A narco-state committed to the largest and greatest production and sale of cocaine worldwide, with the FARC in Colombia and Evo Morales’ coca growers in Bolivia aiming at the U.S. as their destination. The U.S. recognizes the potential of Islamic terrorism to create through their criminal undertakings a destabilizing effect in the region that would result in migratory pressure on the U.S. The epicenter of the greatest danger against the United States is Venezuela’s Castroist styled dictatorship.
Published in Spanish by www.carlossanchezberzain.com on Sunday May 14th, 2017.