Nicolás Maduro in brine

By: Pedro Corzo - 03/09/2025

Guest columnist.
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Of course, this is speculation, but I have the perception that the Venezuelan despot has exhausted the patience—"he has filled his cap with guizazos," as they say in Cuba to express weariness—of very influential figures, with sufficient resources not only to overthrow him, but even to imprison him.

Another impression is that there are nefarious dictators who, nevertheless, manage to win the favor of certain powerful figures. This was the case of Fidel Castro, whom King Juan Carlos I of Spain never told to shut up, unlike what happened with the insufferable Hugo Chávez on November 10, 2007, when, in the middle of the Ibero-American Summit, he incessantly interrupted the then president of the Spanish government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. On that occasion, the monarch uttered the unforgettable and accurate "Why don't you shut up?" Curiously, today Rodríguez Zapatero serves as a faithful servant of Nicolás Maduro and other despots.

That said, and recognizing that times have changed radically and that powers—imperial or republican—must act with caution, I don't rule out (though I don't guarantee) that the United States, allied with several Latin American nations and supported by Venezuelan sectors suffering the destruction of their country, will end up charging the Chavista leaders for the countless atrocities committed. Several of them directly affect American society, such as drug trafficking.

It's worth remembering that, during his first term, Donald Trump offered a $15 million bounty on Nicolás Maduro. Joe Biden then increased it to $25 million, and now, in his new presidency, Trump has doubled it, reaching an unprecedented figure: twice the amount once offered for global terrorist Osama Bin Laden.

Washington also designated the Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organization and Maduro as its leader. This entails not only economic sanctions but also the freezing and reporting to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of all assets and interests of those designated that are under U.S. jurisdiction.

The gravity of the case is underscored by the accusation by the U.S. Attorney General, who blamed Maduro for using cartels to smuggle deadly drugs and violence into the United States, calling him one of the world's largest drug traffickers and a direct threat to national security. Such a harsh definition underscores the harshness with which the White House is acting.

As a result, the United States is currently deploying 4,000 agents—mostly Marines—in Latin American and Caribbean waters, reinforced with reconnaissance aircraft, missile-equipped destroyers, and even a nuclear submarine. According to writer José Antonio Albertini, this maneuver seeks to pressure the Venezuelan military to act against Maduro.

The truth is that this deployment is much more military than police-related. Consider the recent deployment of an amphibious squadron: a force that could be the vanguard of a larger operation. History shows that the Marines are not limited to counter-drug control tasks; their objective is to carry out expeditionary and amphibious operations using combined arms, including infantry, artillery, aviation, and special forces. The presence of destroyers and marines is, without a doubt, a novelty in the fight against drug trafficking.

It's also unusual for properties to be confiscated from a sitting president. According to the Justice Department itself, Maduro's assets totaling more than $700 million have been seized. A figure that speaks, on the one hand, to his ability to enrich himself as a former bus driver; and, on the other, to the absolute lack of scruples of those who declare themselves enemies of capital, yet benefit from it without limits.

Ultimately, the situation of Nicolás Maduro and his main associates—among them the feared Diosdado Cabello and the siblings Jorge and Delcy Rodríguez—is increasingly complicated. Everything indicates that, at best, a reserved prison cell awaits them somewhere in the world, preferably the Guantánamo Bay naval base.

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