Nicolas Maduro and his Cuban advisors have greased the machinery of psychological warfare – a classic of revolutions – with the aim of withstanding US military pressure. In recent days, different versions of negotiations and proposals with that objective have emerged, including the selfie of the president in fact and his vice president, the alleged conspirator Delcy Rodriguezas if they were celebrating Christmas early by the president people.
“Another means that adds to the garbage of the psychological war against the Venezuelan people. They have no ethics or morals and exclusively favor lies and carrion,” the aforementioned defended, which according to the Miami Herald He would have offered himself, along with his brother Jorge, chief negotiator of the Miraflores Palace, as a solution for the future without Maduro at the head of the country.
The American news agency AP offered another diametrically different version, according to which Maduro would give in to the American push by shortening the current fraudulent legislature in exchange for remaining in the Miraflores Palace for the next three years and later being replaced by Delcy herself.
“I doubt that Maduro wants to negotiate to hand over power. Maduro knows that Trump is transactional, and we don’t know what he is putting on the table. If it is true that Maduro is offering something, it is not exactly his way out,” María Puerta Riera, professor of American Government in Florida, explains to EL MUNDO.
Previously, The New York Times He announced that Maduro would be willing to facilitate access to Venezuelan oil, gas and gold for American companies, which would be a considerable financial success for Trump, despite the fact that this exchange would harm the interests of China and Russia.
Another factor to consider is the lobby -“to de-escalate”, as it is currently recognized-, fueled by Caracas, by its millionaire businessmen and by the oil industry, which move with agility around the circles of power in Washington.
And “zaperoco“, as they call in Venezuela the jumbles – in this case of protagonists and interests -, marked by the comings and goings of Trump, now determined to end the war in Ukraine after his personal triumph in Gaza. For now, his Secretary of State, the Cuban-American Marco Rubiohas won the game against the White House special envoy, Ric Grenell, the main defender of agreements and business with Caracas. For the three Latin American dictatorships, Rubio is the main obstacle to their survival.
“Maduro is an illegitimate president who has trafficked drugs for too long”stressed Karoline Leavitt, White House spokesperson, hours before another official told the Reuters agency that another “drug boat”, the sixth, was hit by a US missile, without further details, except that on this occasion there were survivors. The military organized a helicopter rescue to pick up the survivors, whom they kept on one of the Navy ships.
Neither in Washington nor in Caracas doubt that the next step in the escalation of pressure would be the first attack against ground targets in Venezuelan territory. There are plenty of forces for this: USA has carried out its largest deployment in the southern Caribbean for four decades, including the invasion of Panama and the overthrow of the dictator Manuel Antonio Cara de Piña Noriega, also involved in drug trafficking. Destroyers, submarines, latest generation fighters, bombers, helicopters and elite units are preparing to carry out the orders of their political and military commanders.
In his latest report, The Wall Street Journal He broke down how the Pentagon has strategically placed all its pieces against an enemy with a warlike capacity that is highly conditioned by the national crisis. Experts consulted by EL MUNDO assure that the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) can barely put five Russian Sukhoi fighters in its skies.
What is seen every day on Chavista channels, with calls even to non-existent international indigenous brigades, does not go beyond the crudest propaganda, although the million-dollar outlay carried out by Hugo Chávez, who bought all the Russian weapons offered to him Vladimir Putinespecially its anti-aircraft systems, would complicate the start of the famous “phase two” of the US deployment.
“Given that Maduro has repeatedly used dialogue as a delaying tactic to buy time until the pressure calms down, any new conversation should be evaluated based on your history of broken commitments. The agreements must be verifiable, with defined and measurable deadlines, not simply based on empty promises,” warns analyst Geoff Ramsey, who outlines the dilemma that looms over the White House: “Use the naval deployment in the Caribbean as a pressure tactic to promote American interests and democratic reforms or risk a military escalation and run the risk of a conflict potentially destabilizing.”
Anything goes for internal psychological warfare, like the minister’s imitations. Diosdado Hairdetermined to remember the overthrown Noriega. He number two of the revolution brandished a machete in his last speech, just as the Panamanian leader liked. “Whoever comes here knows that he will look like a peasant with a machete in his hand anywhere, with a rifle from the country,” the former soldier rambled.