Francisco Santos
Bogota Colombia
Something is happening in the circles of power in Venezuela. The fears of Maduro and his entourage of gangsters -including his wife-, which have given a new air to the opposition and it has weakened them, it leads them to make mistakes that, little by little, will cost them more.
The last one was the kidnapping of Rocío San Miguel and her daughter at the Maiquetía airport. They disappeared first and then they accused Rocío of being part of a conspiracy against Maduro that makes no head or tail. But this kidnapping cannot be called a judicial decision because there the justice system does what the gangsters in power tell it to do, it leaves many messages about what is happening in that country.
The first is the cruelty with which they acted. They captured two relatives, her daughter’s father, her last partner, and her and her daughter.. All were released, except the last couple of her and her, who entered the vicious circle of torture in the Digecim and in the Helicoide, where he and she, respectively, were locked up.
The reason? There are several, but the first is Send a message to María Corina: we are coming for you and your family And if you think you’re sure, look at what happened to this woman. It is a psychological operation of intimidation, which demonstrates, without a doubt, the fear they already have of that brave woman who has become the hope of Venezuela.
Rocío San Miguel is an academic and human rights defender, president of the NGO Control Ciudadano and one of the people with the best sources within the military. during decades. She wrote and commented in academic media about the critical situation of the Armed Forces for years and that is another reason to arrest her and send another message. This time to the military who, without a doubt, are the ones Maduro and his court of criminals fear the most.
This fear grows every day because, without a doubt, today there is a consensus in the Venezuelan Armed Forces on two matters. First, the responsibility of Maduro and his mafia in the almost inevitable loss of Essequibo, which is an issue that is in the DNA of all Venezuelans. The disaster of the referendum on Essequibo, in which no one voted, only confirmed what those soldiers feel.
The second is boredom with the imposition of the Cuban commanders – yes, there is still nationalism in the Armed Forces – and, above all, with the economic disaster and the uselessness of the Government to improve the economic situation that has the vast majority of members of these forces and their families in brutal poverty, equal to that of millions of citizens.
This paranoia in the face of the real feeling of dissatisfaction in the Armed Forces leads them to try to show power and capacity for repression to discourage any act of rebellion and impose submission.. The barbaric arrest of Rocío San Miguel supposedly sends this message, but the truth shows more of a paranoia within the mafia sect that destroys Venezuela.
And a third message is that of one sector of that mafia, Padrino López and Diosdado Cabello, against the other, that of the Rodríguez brothers, Delcy and Jorge. For months Diosdado said on his program that the opposition primary elections were not going to be held, but Jorge Rodríguez had another idea, they had to be held to remove Alex Saab and obtain reductions in sanctions. He always thought that those primaries were going to be a failure, that’s why he agreed with Juan González, the White House advisor.
Rodriguez won the fight and, the truth is, Diosdado was made to look ridiculous, so much so that Rodríguez already saw himself as Maduro’s successor.. They felt that the way – almost with the permission of the United States – was open.
The primaries were a resounding success and Venezuela sent a clear message to Maduro and his mafia: we do not want them and we are united around María Corina. The message was consolidated with the failure of the Essequibo referendum, but they pulled an ace out of their sleeve, the disqualification of María Corina. The United States reacted by reviving sanctions in April, to which Rodríguez responded, “You fucking Yankees, put them in now.”
Padrino and Diosdado, under the orders of the Russians and the Cubans, took the initiative to weaken the already politically battered Rodríguez. The arrest of Rocío San Miguel is part of that revenge, personal in the case of Diosdado and institutional in the case of Padrino.
This kidnapping of the human rights activist is just the beginning of a reaction that we do not know how it will stop, becauseIt is clear that there are ruptures within the mafia in power, on the one hand, and the military’s disaffection with them grows every day.. That is what Maduro and his entourage are afraid of. They know, as we all know, that the removal of this mafia from power requires the military, who require a way out for those most involved in illicit businesses in the high command.
Thus, the departure of Juan González from his position in the White House, among other reasons due to the failure of his strategy against Venezuela, is another link in the difficulties that put the mafia kleptocracy in Venezuela on the ropes. More sanctions are needed, more perseverance from María Corina and the opposition and more street to create the conditions for the exit of this mafia from power.
We don’t know how many more ‘judicial’ kidnappings, or something worse, will be needed for the rope to break, but what we see today gives some hope for the future of Venezuela. Little, but nothing is worse.
The human rights defender in Venezuela, Rocío San Miguel.