US Policy Shift On Maduro A No No?

Imagine JFK “working with” Fidel after Bay of Pigs fiasco. Now think about Joe B giving Chevron a special license to “work with” human rights scofflaw Maduro with an eye toward easing US oil prices & furthering “democracy”…

Fox News noted how the Biden Administration has thusly given the “Maduro regime a lifeline” as Venezuelans cry foul … for internationally recognized crimes against humanity.” According to the media outlet, “the UN has documented some 7,000 extrajudicial killings perpetrated by the Maduro regime.” But, the unexpected US policy change allowing an oil giant to drill for oil in that country was supposedly pinned to Maduro “dialoguing” with opposition leaders for the possible creation of a “humanitarian budget.”

Would you dare try to sell such rationalization in a novel? Alfredo Romero, director of Foro Penal, the nation’s largest organization repping political prisoners, certainly wasn’t buying it: “Officially, Venezuela has 277 political prisoners, but since 2014 we have documented 16,000 [such] cases … People are detained, tortured and killed for political reasons, with systematic use of torture against political prisoners.” He argues that “Violation of human rights in Venezuela is systemic and there is no investigation at all.” But, the US needs Venezuelan oil to drive down prices at the pump, no? And, as the Treasury Dept reminds, the mere “reopening of negotiations” between Maduro and his opponents “are important steps in the right direction to restore democracy in the country,” no? No?

Davd Soul