If I keep reading the news I’m going to develop some sort of political eczema. The most recent events that directly or indirectly affect Venezuela could not have been more unfortunate and demoralizing.
Judging by the current developments, I expect Lula DaSilva to win elections in Brazil today, thus closing the ideological corral that will guarantee Latin America’s stagnation for the next 50 years. Everything is going smoothly for the left and their international agendas (not that Bolsonaro is a great alternative for Brazil, anyways. Both guys are unfit to lead a country, but we keep choosing the lesser of two evils).
Yesterday’s news about the liberation of the infamous narco-nephews has been a terrible blow for whoever thought that the American justice system could at least compensate for some of the political mistakes made by the executive branch led by either party.
Thus far, the justice system as represented by Bill Dubuque’s Ozark is the closest to the reality we are living. The war on terror, the war on drugs, the zero-tolerance policy, are all bullshit. The cartels and other terrorist organizations exist not despite the governments’ efforts to eradicate them, but because of governments’ interests. There’s no other logical explanation. Governments like the Colombian, Venezuelan, or American have armies with weapons that can challenge other nations, but they can’t eliminate a few thousand terrorists within their own territories.
Far from being contested, these terrorist organizations have now enough leverage to make a justice system like the American liberate two narcos who had been already tried and convicted (after a very long and expensive trial). We are not talking about any narcos. We are talking about the nephews of the first lady of a nation; the tip of a rotten iceberg that reaches the highest spheres of political power in Latin America.
Now we know why Latin-American regimes are so eager to capture any foreigners, especially from the US or Europe. They become pawns that can be exchange for criminals who represent these regimes’ interests. The Biden administration has done a great disservice to the American people. They can’t say now that they do not negotiate with terrorists. It has been proven that they do if the price is right.
I hope the 7 American citizens that were exchanged for these two narcos are worthy. The precedent this transaction sets is nefarious and puts the lives of any American citizen around the world at risk. They can easily become pieces in a nasty political game. There are no principles, values, or scruples at play here. This is pure power, money, and self-interest.
I just hope the ire in Iran or Cuba has reached a boiling point. Venezuela has a long way to go still before people realize that a massive reaction and not a miraculous intervention is the only way out.
Thanks for your reading
This was my entry to @mariannewest and @latino.romano’s 5 Minute Freewrite: Sunday Prompt: ECZEMA. You can see the details here.
Make sure you visit the Freewrite House!!!
