The incoherence of Venezuelan "leadership"—if you can even call "leadership" a "power" structure that has no effective autonomy except what another actor (Washington) allows it—seems to have hit rock bottom after the decision to hand Alex Saab over to Donald Trump on a silver platter. This, understand, is the most blatant manifestation yet that Washington has fully domesticated and handcuffed the current occupants of Miraflores Palace, whether under threat of harsh punishment or as part of less coercive—and therefore perhaps more dignity-crushing—agreements.
Saab was already imprisoned in the United States, from which he was released as part of a prisoner exchange during the Biden administration. His return was wildly acclaimed and celebrated by Chavismo, which considered him a political prisoner, a victim of the omnipotent and abusive power of the United States. After Nicolás Maduro, probably no one more than Delcy Rodríguez, her brother Jorge Rodríguez, and Diosdado Cabello—the (at least visibly) "leading" troika now—came out to sing victory with more euphoria back in December 2023.
"Alex Saab freed after a long kidnapping by the United States," Cabello said. "We denounced to the press the crimes against humanity suffered by our diplomat Alex Saab, who should never have been kidnapped in the United States," Jorge Rodríguez stressed then. "They could not and will not be able to break his spirit, his soul, and his strength as a good man!" he exclaimed. And Delcy? Well, she has seen fit to delete the tweets showing her doing the same thing, with all the cold-bloodedness in the world, after many, as usually happens nowadays when someone relevant does something that contradicts their record, had already located, retweeted, and archived them.
The narrative they're using to explain—if any explanation is even possible—this nonsense is scandalous. It irritates, it enrages. The president—no longer just "acting" but fully entrenched—says they've sent him to Florida "for one interest, which is the interest of Venezuela; there is no other consideration." "Alex Saab is a citizen of Colombian origin; he performed functions in Venezuela, and this is a matter between the United States of North America and Alex Saab," she says, in a very dirty attempt to wash her hands of the matter. But it's even more frustrating to read or listen to Cabello. "He showed up with a fraudulent ID and with that ID he did some things, and when we searched and conducted a detailed, detailed investigation, there is no file (…) certifying that this person is Venezuelan, that's why we made the decision to deport him," he said.
To say this about a guy who was a minister until very recently and generally carried out many official missions is to push disrespect for public rationality to an extreme. Thus, the point is: who are the bad guys and who are the good guys in this story? Was there ever any good guy at all? We know these aren't good guys because they either kept quiet about what was wrong to stay in power or they're lying now for the same reason. Shame on them.
Source for the image in the cover.
