Taking the evening off.
Thank you for your interest.
Sunday, October 17, 2021
Interpol did really good work on this.
It would be to the benefit of Maduro to continue talks with the opposition. It is the only way forward for his control of the country.
By Joshua Goodman
Venezuela’s government said Saturday (click here) it would halt negotiations with its opponents in retaliation for the extradition to the U.S. of a close ally of President Nicolás Maduro who prosecutors believe could be the most significant witness ever about corruption in the South American country.
Jorge Rodríguez, who has been heading the government’s delegation, said his team wouldn’t travel to Mexico City for the next scheduled round of negotiations.
The announcement capped a tumultuous day that saw businessman Alex Saab placed on a U.S.-bound plane in Cape Verde after a 16-month fight by Maduro and his allies, including Russia, who consider the Colombian-born businessman a Venezuelan diplomat.
A few hours after news of Saab’s extradition blew up Venezuelan social media, six American oil executives held on house arrest were taken back to jail by security forces — a sign that relations between Washington and Caracas could be upended after months of quiet diplomacy since Joe Biden entered the White House. Families of the men known as the Citgo 6 — for the Houston subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company where they worked — expressed frustration with both governments.
“The fact that Mr. Saab is in the U.S. before my father is a disgrace,” said Cristina Vadell, whose father, Tomeu Vadell, is among the Americans serving out long sentences on what the U.S. government considers trumped-up charges....
Venezuela’s government said Saturday (click here) it would halt negotiations with its opponents in retaliation for the extradition to the U.S. of a close ally of President Nicolás Maduro who prosecutors believe could be the most significant witness ever about corruption in the South American country.
Jorge Rodríguez, who has been heading the government’s delegation, said his team wouldn’t travel to Mexico City for the next scheduled round of negotiations.
The announcement capped a tumultuous day that saw businessman Alex Saab placed on a U.S.-bound plane in Cape Verde after a 16-month fight by Maduro and his allies, including Russia, who consider the Colombian-born businessman a Venezuelan diplomat.
A few hours after news of Saab’s extradition blew up Venezuelan social media, six American oil executives held on house arrest were taken back to jail by security forces — a sign that relations between Washington and Caracas could be upended after months of quiet diplomacy since Joe Biden entered the White House. Families of the men known as the Citgo 6 — for the Houston subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company where they worked — expressed frustration with both governments.
“The fact that Mr. Saab is in the U.S. before my father is a disgrace,” said Cristina Vadell, whose father, Tomeu Vadell, is among the Americans serving out long sentences on what the U.S. government considers trumped-up charges....
To understand the level of money laundering carried out by Saab is to understand the extent to which he was supporting hostile activities in the Western Hemisphere, including Hezbollah. Mr. Saab has much to discuss with the USA government.
This is only the tip of the iceberg.
The agency also expressed its “gratitude to the Government of Cape Verde for its assistance and perseverance with this complex case and admiration for the professionalism of Cabo Verde’s judicial system.”
Saab and his business partner Alvaro Pulido are charged in the US with running a network that exploited food aid that was meant for Venezuela, an oil rich nation grappling with an acute economic crisis....
There is every reason to believe that Saab will talk about his criminal networking and the issue of corruption in relation to the Venezulean people. Maduro's administration thrives on corrupt practices, including, money laundering and drugs.
...Recent nationwide shortages of gasoline (click here) have added to the complexity of the crisis in Venezuela. Despite having the largest reserves of petroleum in the world, the state-owned oil enterprise, Petroleós de Venezuela (PDVSA), cannot refine its heavy crude due to mismanagement and corruption, leading to mass shortages and pent-up demand. In April 2020, the Maduro regime turned to Iran to partner in helping fix the oil refineries on the Paraguana peninsula, and to provide much-needed fuel to Venezuela. The newly minted oil minister, Tareck El Aissami, and the regime’s special envoy to Iran, Lebanese-Colombian businessman Alex Saab, seemingly worked out a gold-for-gas deal with Tehran.
Shortly after, in a period of a month and a half, the Iranian airline, Mahan Air, flew seventeen flights and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) sailed five tankers from Iran to Venezuela to provide parts from China, Iranian technicians, and approximately 1.5 million barrels of gasoline to the fuel-starved Maduro regime. Months later, the refineries on the Paraguana peninsula still do not operate, and Venezuela is once again facing fuel shortages. But, according to Bloomberg, the Islamic Republic received almost half a billion dollars’ worth (nine tons) of gold bars as payment...
Besides the fact there are reasons to still impeach Trump and he is guilty of violations of the emoluments clause...
...the statistics about the degree Trump is able to derail the national dialogue about him is incredible. He premeditates his appearances to the right wing. The Republicans have no control over the messaging of their party. Trump's exclamations are in complete disregard of the Republican Party's future failures or successes. He will throw every Republican under the bus to distract from the truth. FOX News amplifies it. The GOP doesn't have a chance.
No matter how extreme, Donald John Trump will amplify his own message to maintain control of the national right wing dialogue. He wants the country to hate President Biden while the US House investigates Trump's crimes. Those crimes are so numerous that he literally can spend the rest of his life treading water through the media to remain from incarceration.
Trump's messaging is about him and his so called innocense and the basis of the January 6th insurrection. The violence occurred to legitimately end the election of President Biden so Trump could eliminate his corrupt agendas, concealment of facts and greed. As a dictator/king, Trump would be able to exempt the Executive Branch from any rule of law and his prosecution on any scale. He maintained the Justice Department and the Legislative Branch in disarray to maintain power. Trump's need for power is directly related to his corrupt financial dealings. He never cared about the country, except, where it benefitted him.
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