Elect between freedom and national security or continue doing business with organized crime dictatorships

By: Carlos Sánchez Berzaín - 20/05/2025

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Indicators of the new foreign affairs’ policies of the United States affect dictatorships of 21st Century Socialism under the command of Cuba, operating in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia. The extended permanence of these dictatorships, constantly attacking the U.S. and all democracies from the Americas, can best be attributed to the fact they negotiate with governments and/or components of economic power. Today, these dictatorships are crime and not politics, something that poses democratic governments to elect between the freedom of the peoples and to protect their own national security, or continue doing business with dictatorships.

Cuba’s dictatorship is over 65 years of age and Venezuela’s is over 25 years old, constant, permanent, and sustainably attacking democracies from the Americas. They remain yielding power violating human rights, exerting State-terrorism, and committing all types of crime by force and violence. Openly, self-proclaimed antiimperialist and enemies of democracy, they have caused and maintain the region under constant and continued crises with their constant aggression.

Ever since it took power, Cuba’s dictatorship attacks hemispheric and worldwide peace and security. Some of the highlights of its constant attacks are; the 1962 missile crisis, its implementation and support of guerrilla hot-spots throughout the region, its participation in invasions and wars of aggression, its active alignment as part of the communist block against democracy, its use and protection of State-terrorism, its establishment as the first narco-State of the region following its assessment of “narcotics’ trafficking as an instrument in the antiimperialist war,” destabilized -with the use of armed conflict- all countries of Latin America from 1959 up to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. When it was on the border of extinction in 1999, Hugo Chavez ascended to the presidency of Venezuela and rescued it in order to expand it.

In this century, the attacks under the command of Cuba have assumed the political name of 21st Century Socialism and use “hybrid warfare” to attack the U.S. and all of the region’s democracies with “narcotics’ trafficking, forcible migrations, criminal groups, transnational organized crime, public agitation, street gangs, coups d’etat, terrorism, electoral penetration, assassinations of both reputations and physical killings, fake news, cyber-attacks, and more.” The objective is “to weaken and undermine democracy, erode its power, strength, and will with the advantage that the aggressor can never be held responsible for its attacks.”

Democracy has tried all types of containment, appeasement, tolerance, diplomatic dialogue, and opened opportunities, for Cuba’s dictatorship to free its people and move towards a transition to democracy, but the results have always been; deception, the increment of threats and allegiances against the U.S. and other democracies as proven by China, Russia, and Iran’s penetration into Cuba, as well as Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia. Sanctions have also been tried, but these were never enough, were not disabling, were always subjected to dictatorial narratives and the interests of pro-dictatorial groups who -with a variety of types of arguments- openly operate in democracy.

Cuba’s dictatorship has expanded its model and controls Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia, and operates in all democratic countries to take over power through violence, conspiracy, or electoral penetration, and to establish “Para-Dictatorial Governments” who will serve it as was done in Mexico with Lopez Obrador/Sheinbaum, Colombia with Petro, Brazil with Lula, Honduras with Castro, and partially in Chile with Boric who acknowledges Venezuela’s involvement but remains hushed regarding Cuba’s role.

Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia are “narco-States.” The first narco-State of the region was Cuba, after Fidel Castro forged an alliance with Colombian Pablo Escobar and Bolivian Roberto Suarez that came to an abrupt halt after Castro -in an effort to hide his involvement- ordered the execution by firing squad of his subordinates.

This year, the U.S. raised the bounty -still valid- for the capture, or information leading to the capture, of Nicolas Maduro and Diosdado Cabello to 25 million dollars each, and 15 million for Padrino Lopez for “conspiracy of narcotics’ trafficking and the importation of cocaine, conspiracy for the use and tenancy of machine-guns and destructive devices to promote the crime of narcotics’ trafficking.” It is this very same regime of Maduro, Cabello, and Padrino in Venezuela -satellite that sustains Cuba’s dictatorship- that conducts and carries out deals such as the one involving Venezuelan oil and others that contribute to the permanence of dictatorships and the continued subjection of the peoples.

Changes were foreseen when President Trump “revoked all permits and concessions that allowed Western energy companies to operate in Venezuela,” and beyond that when he announced “the imposition of a 25% tariff on all imports of any country who buys oil or gas from Venezuela,” indicating that sic Venezuela “has been very hostile towards the U.S. and the freedoms that we defend” furthermore, accusing it of “sending criminals to the U.S. amongst whom are el Tren de Aragua.”

The alternative is between ending the attacks to protect our own national security, or continue doing business with transnational organized crime. There is NOTHING in between.

*Lawyer and Political Scientist. Director of the Interamerican Institute for Democracy.

Translation from Spanish by Edgar L. Terrazas

«The opinions published herein are the sole responsibility of its author».