Two opportunities lost and one to be won. But that is not what Francisco Santos, former vice president of Colombia, called them in a recent interview. He called them junctures. And perhaps seen from a political analysis, from the outside, they can be described as such. But for Venezuelans who suffer this hell that Venezuela has become, they were unique opportunities to put an end to the regime, which have been had and lost, at least twice, because of the political opposition that has led the fight against the regime:
"I believe that we have had three conjunctures since the beginning of the dictatorship, three unique junctures against the opposition. First, when the elections were won, which Capriles was afraid of and was not able to defend. He crumpled, he lacked balls. What else can we say. And that is where the Assembly came from. The second one is when Guaidó, when a parallel government was created, which was unique! It was something, an incredible experiment that this administration (Biden) killed it. A parallel government was created that I want to tell you that if the Americans and Juan González had not ended it, today they could be saying we are going to hold elections after holding the primaries. Just like that! Obviously, Jimmy (Story) is responsible, but who says yes or no is Jimmy's boss. Who is Jimmy's boss, forgive me, but it is not the gentleman from the State Department, it is Juan González, because Juan González, who is the one who manages the policy towards Venezuela... But he was a unique instrument that they killed. And the third moment is this..." (see in Spanish Carlos Acosta interviews Francisco Santos, former Vice President of Colombia, US pleads for help to María Corina Machado (MCM), in https://youtu.be/ONjSMJBYIYU?t=173).
MCM is writing that new page in the political history of the opposition in Venezuela, for this third opportunity. Whether or not these next years -or decades- will be a disgrace for this suffering country depends on its success or failure in this new stage.
This new opposition opportunity began with its victory in the primaries of October 22, 2023 and requires a full understanding of the mistakes made in the previous opportunities, crudely described by Santos in that interview, especially the last one, when US officials and the official Venezuelan opposition of the G4 put an end to a unique opportunity to rid ourselves of these criminals who misrule us.
Clearly, the departure of Juan Gonzalez from his post as special assistant to Joe Biden and Senior Director of the National Security Council for the Western Hemisphere (NSC), cannot be due to anything other than the failure of the White House policy to ensure that Maduro, after achieving everything he wanted from them, the Americans have not received anything in return -and neither have the Venezuelans- and that the regime continues to mock the agreements signed in Barbados, leaving the U.S. disqualified, after achieving everything he wanted from them, the Americans have received nothing in return -and neither have the Venezuelans- and the regime continues to mock the agreements signed in Barbados, leaving the main leader of the Venezuelan opposition, MCM, disqualified, being them the main guarantors of the agreements signed in Barbados and the main guarantors of the agreements signed in Barbados (see in Spanish, Tal Cual, Juan González, Biden's top advisor on Venezuela, will resign in March, in https://talcualdigital.com/juan-gonzalez-principal-asesor-de-biden-en-los-temas-de-venezuela-dimitira-en-marzo/).
We were able to say that to the Americans from Venezuela, after years of suffering from the actions of these thugs. But no one is making a fool out of another's head, as we say around here. And the consequences are paid by Gonzalez, who we thought that because he was of Colombian descent, he could understand our tragedy more than anyone else. But it was not so...
Diario
Las Américas emphasizes that the US policy has been based on "the illusory theory of
"concessions" repeatedly expressed by advisor Juan González, that is,
on the progressive lifting of sanctions as the regime moves towards a
democratic path and on the threat of returning to sanctions if the agreements
towards democratic and free elections are not complied with" (see in
Spanish Diario Las Américas, Informe Otálvora: Enviados de EEUU piden consejo a
Petro sobre Maduro, Feb. 10, in https://www.diariolasamericas.com/america-latina/informe-otalvora-enviados-eeuu-piden-consejo-petro-maduro-n5351342).
This course of action definitely failed due to Gonzalez's poor advice, so the White House decided to review its “sanctions policy, based on this development (the TSJ's decision against MCM) and the recent political targeting (of the Maduro regime) of democratic opposition candidates and civil society" (ver Venezuela Supreme Court Rulings and the Barbados Agreement, in https://www.state.gov/venezuelan-supreme-court-rulings-and-the-barbados-agreement/).
Faced with such a failure in its foreign policy in relation to Maduro and Venezuela, the U.S. then decided to meet with President Gustavo Petro of Colombia, seeking solutions to what is already an accomplished fact of the regime's refusal to measure itself as it is with the legitimate representative of the Venezuelan opposition.
The US delegation to talk with President Petro was headed by Jon Finer, second in command of the US National Security Council, accompanied by Juan Gonzalez. In a joint communiqué regarding Venezuela they indicated that "they held an in-depth discussion on the situation in Venezuela and reaffirmed the importance of implementing all elements of the Barbados Agreement and working together with all parties to comply with the agreed electoral roadmap" (see Diario Las Américas above), which indicates that the US, in spite of the mistakes made, will remain firm in the Barbados route, but now committing Petro.
Petro would lose a unique re-election opportunity if he does not do his best to support the Barbados solution. In the words of former Vice President Francisco Santos:
"… The moment they restore democracy, my God, what is going to happen in Venezuela in economic terms has no name! And it is not because of the oil, which is a part of it, because they destroyed everything there and they have to rebuild it again. And that reconstruction will generate employment and will generate tremendous profits, starting with Colombia, which will be able to feed and help rebuild energy, everything! Obviously it is in Petro's interest! Of course it is in Petro's interest. You know Petro when he comes out in 2026 saying to his people, "I solved the problem of Venezuela! And look, I managed to increase the commercial exchange between our countries from zero to 4,000! Look, the refugees came back!" (see Carlos Acosta interview to Francisco Santos, former vice president of Colombia, already mentioned in https://youtu.be/ONjSMJBYIYU?t=307).
Gustavo Petro, like MCM in Venezuela, was illegally disqualified by the Colombian State and won a judgment in his favor from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights against his dismissal and political disqualification as Mayor of Bogotá imposed by the Colombian Attorney General's Office on December 9, 2013 (see in Spanish CIDH, Case Petro Urrego v. Colombia, judgment of July 8, 2020, in https://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/casos/articulos/seriec_406_esp.pdf).
By virtue of the above, Petro would have no moral right to turn his back on the injustice committed with MCM in Venezuela, without taking into account that if the crisis in our country is resolved, he would be the one who would benefit the most politically, and Colombia economically, as well indicated by Francisco Santos.
But Santos does not discover lukewarm water with those statements. Since 2019 I have been insisting that the Venezuelan solution goes through Colombia and vice versa (see A Grandcolombian solution, in https://ticsddhh.blogspot.com/p/a-grandcolombian-solution.html). Who took Venezuela out of the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) in April 2006, bursting a regional trade that almost reached US$ 9 billion? Answer: Hugo Chávez Frías. Colombia alone was taking 4,000 of those 9 billion with Venezuela, a little more than 44% at that time (see in Spanish El País de España, Hugo Chávez retira a Venezuela de la Comunidad Andina, in https://elpais.com/diario/2006/04/21/internacional/1145570417_850215.html).
So that third chance is not only for Venezuela, but for Colombia as well. The US should take note of that, and the next step now should be the right one, ignoring the siren songs (I imagine sung by Gonzalez and Story) that indicated that they would make better deals with a tyranny than with a well constituted democracy. Hopefully, having lost all these years has helped them to better understand our situation. It is a third opportunity for all Latin America, including the USA. Please, don't spoil it...
Caracas, February 15, 2024
Blog:
TIC’s & Derechos Humanos,
Email: luismanuel.aguana@gmail.com
Twitter:@laguana
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