As usual, Moisés Naím seems to be in a thousand things at once. He recently launched a new book – What is happening to us: 121 ideas for scrutinizing the 21st century – and which consists, as he explains, of “a combination of my columns trying to explain the world today.” An exercise that he recognizes as “complex,” but that, at the same time, he says, “is what keeps me busy.” Soon, to promote it, the Venezuelan academic, writer and columnist – one of the most influential in Latin America – will embark on a tour of several countries.
But it is not academia, nor writing, that worries him most today. His eyes often look at his native country, which today is on the verge of a new election that could consolidate the power of Nicolás Maduro, of whom he has always been a furious opponent.
The interview begins with the topic of the moment: the case of the dissident Venezuelan military officer Ronald Ojeda, a refugee in Chile and whose remains were found in a marginal neighborhood of Santiago 10 days after being kidnapped from his home by a group of men disguised as agents of the PDI (Investigative Police of Chile). ).
Since Ojeda was kidnapped, the opposition to Maduro warned about possible government intervention in the case. Is it something that has happened before?
It is normal in the Venezuelan regime, the Russian regime, the North Korean regime, Nicaragua, China. All of these regimes act internationally in a veiled manner to kidnap, sometimes murder, political opponents. Venezuela is simply putting its name next to the most opprobrious regimes of these times. It is one of the preferred techniques of the USSR regimes. Bulgaria invented the poison umbrella technique, with which they stabbed an opponent. Now there are new ways. Navalny was poisoned with something radioactive. It's part of a long story. Today the great sadness is that Latin America had overcome, along with dictatorships, this type of things. But the continent is actively allowing Venezuela to behave like a tyranny straight out of the 20th century USSR.
You have spoken about Cuban influence in Venezuela, in security, intelligence, and military issues. How influential is it?
Cubans are indispensable for Venezuela. And Venezuela is indispensable for Cubans. Even in Venezuela's worst moments, it has always had preference to help the island. Specifically, Venezuela is a country occupied by a foreign power, which is Cuba. And it controls it in many neuralgic aspects: the economy, intelligence, politics, finance, business. Venezuela is simply captured, manipulated and used by Cuba, which is doing what states that occupy other states normally do: plunder.
He has said that the Venezuelan State is a narco-state. What determines this definition?
In the past, organized crime was outside the Government. And he used methods of pressure or seduction on governments. Now, in Venezuela and elsewhere, organized crime is the government. The large cartels that operate in Venezuela are controlled by it. For example, a very important drug cartel, the Soles cartel, became fashionable. And it is called 'of the suns' because of the epaulettes that the military wear on their shoulders. Specifically, they work for the benefit of the Maduro regime, Maduro himself and his family and his military.
Following this line, can organized crime be a way of acting internationally for a narco-state?
It's right. Organized crime has been transformed, by the Government, into a tool. Among the options that the Venezuelan Government has to operate internationally are the techniques, tactics and organizations typical of organized crime and mafias.
So, do you think it is feasible that the Venezuelan State could kidnap someone outside of their country?
Not only is it feasible, it is the way the Venezuelan dictatorship has been behaving. Now, at the very least, we must trust the Chilean justice system. I trust in the independence, autonomy and justice of the courts that will see this. The Venezuelan dictatorship and diplomacy behaves in an extraterritorial manner. It tries to impose its decisions and ways of acting in a way that goes beyond what is permitted by law.
At that point, how should the Chilean Government act in such a situation?
How democracies act. The Chilean Government must do what the law says. And there are laws that govern these types of situations. To what the courts say we must add the protection of the civil, political, and human rights of people persecuted by dictatorships that engage in these extraterritorial behaviors.
Chile recently signed a police cooperation agreement with Venezuela. This week, in this regard, a Venezuelan media said that Venezuelan intelligence took advantage of this, within the framework of the Ojeda case. How do you evaluate these types of agreements?
Agreements can be reached, as long as one remembers that whoever is negotiating on the other side of the table is part of the criminal organizations that run Venezuela today. It must be clear that, usually, on the other side there is not Snow White sitting, but rather people who actively participate in the way of life and the way of operating of organized crime worldwide.
Despite all the complaints, Nicolás Maduro will probably win the next elections and remain in power…
Venezuela is a country occupied by a foreign power, which is Cuba. And it controls it in many neuralgic aspects: the economy, intelligence, politics, finance, business.
The surprise is surprising. It is a dictatorship. And it started out as a dictatorship. Now it is about washing and whitewashing Hugo Chávez's regime, but he started with this. Certainly Venezuela is a dictatorship and that debate should not exist. What is happening today, within the framework of the elections, is more of the same. It's not the first time it happens. Maduro flirts with the idea of elections, baits the opposition, creates meetings in exotic places and it turns out that in the end it was all a trick to buy time for the dictatorship, to distract from other problems, to make room for himself and make things that are not done in democracy. They are dictators, they are not going to allow themselves to be removed by elections.
A recent column in the Americas Quarterly says that Maduro has already stopped pretending, but that the world needs to stop doing it. What do you think?
Regarding the international community, apart from poorly designed and worse implemented sanctions by the United States, not much else has happened. There are individual sanctions, which are the ones that hurt the most, where there is a reward for the surrender of Nicolás Maduro. However, the United States and the Department of Justice set a price, but another part of the American Government releases one of Maduro's most important figureheads, Mr. Saab, who is the main financial agent, the manager of Maduro's enormous fortune. the dictatorship.
What can or should the Latin American community do?
There are things, although none is a magic wand. She should, for example, raise her voice about systematic torture. Say clearly that this is a government that tortures, in the eyes of the Latin American community and the world. Something could be done in terms of increasing the pressure on people with first and last names.
How do you see the world panorama? 2024 will be full of elections and conflicts…
Very important things are going to happen. I attach enormous importance to the United States presidential elections at the end of the year. Everything seems to indicate that, despite his legal problems, Trump will be the Republican candidate. And we don't know what will happen with Biden, about whom there is great and justified concern due to the symptoms of his advanced age. Everything happens in the world. There is the war between Russia and Ukraine, between Israel and Hamas, the tensions between China and Taiwan. There is a long list of attention and emergency points, which have important consequences and global nature. There are also the impacts of climate change that we are seeing. The emergence of AI and its very positive, but at the same time dangerous, consequences. But nothing will be more important than the US elections, because if Donald Trump wins, there will be a regression of US democracy in all areas.
Where do you place Javier Milei on the democratic map? What do you think of his government?
He is a libertarian fundamentalist who will discover as a ruler that there are things that cannot be done as he would like, and that it depends on alliances. He will have to talk with groups that he has reviled, that he has insulted. It is a characteristic of the 21st century: countries that get two groups that hate each other to work together will succeed and grow. Those who are stuck with polarization and are not able to achieve alliances will have poorer performance.
MATÍAS BAKIT R. – EL MERCURIO (CHILE) – SANTIAGO DE CHILE / GDA
#39The #continent #allowing #Venezuela #behave #tyranny #USSR39