Venezuela a kidnapped state now occupied by a criminal band

By: Carlos Sánchez Berzaín - 13/08/2025

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The basis of the fight that for decades the peoples subjected by 21st Century Socialism have fought is to separate crime from politics so that organized crime stops protecting itself in the sovereignty, representation, and immunities that are bestowed to Heads of State and democratic representatives. As a milestone for freedom, the United States has just identified Venezuela as a “country kidnapped by a criminal band” increasing the bounty for the capture of Nicolas Maduro to $50 million Dollars.

On behalf of President Trump’s government, U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced this recently passed 7th of August the increase to $50 million Dollars to the bounty for the capture of dictator Nicolas Maduro, highlighting that “Maduro uses foreign terrorist organizations such as; Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel, and the Los Soles Cartel to introduce lethal drugs and violence into our country” and that “to date the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has seized 30 tons of Cocaine linked to Maduro and his accomplices, of which almost seven tons are directly linked to Maduro himself, something that represents a fundamental source of income for the cartels based in Venezuela and Mexico. Cocaine is usually mixed with Fentanyl, which has caused the loss and destruction of countless lives of Americans.”

Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau, has explained and established that “normally, when there are differences between countries, the representatives of both governments can meet to try to resolve them; that is what democracy is all about. But that also supposes that both countries really have government. Sadly, that is not the case of Venezuela which has been kidnapped by a criminal band. Consequently, our relations with Venezuela are fundamentally a matter of law enforcement, not diplomatic...”

The foreign affairs relationship with Venezuela has been defined on the basis of the announcement made by the U.S. Attorney General. Deputy Secretary Landau has specified: “the bounty of up to $ 50 million Dollars is for information that will lead to the arrest of Nicolas Maduro, the leader of the cartel that now controls that country. It is the biggest bounty in our history and is double the amount offered for Osama Bin Laden...”

Democratic governments from the region and the world, who -just as the US- are victims of the crime that wields power through 21st Century Socialism dictatorships that have turned Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia into narco-States, are in need to adopt the definition of Foreign Affairs made by the US, given that this definition creates its own nature that demands to combat, and not coexist with, crime and delinquency, even if this is presented with a socialist or pseudo-revolutionary narrative.

Dictatorships from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Bolivia are under the same condition as that of Venezuela. Para-dictatorial governments have already begun to act in favor of the criminal interests of their colleagues, as in the case of Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s who “after the increase of the US bounty against Maduro, he backed Maduro’s dictatorship.”

Gustavo Petro has been accused by Armando Benedetti, his own Ambassador in Venezuela to have been funded by Maduro and his regime. On 17 July of 2025, Petro has signed with Maduro’s regime the so-called “Memorandum of Understanding to create the binational zone of Peace, Union, and Development,” this memorandum includes the Venezuelan States of Tachira and Zulia and the Colomban Departments North of Santander, Cesar, and La Guajira that is identified as a “binational strip of impunity for narcotics’ trafficking, terrorism, and irregular armed groups.” This same Petro, now continues to back Maduro’s dictatorship and proclaims an armed aggression against Maduro.

For its part, there is evidence that Brazil’s President Lula da Silva has addressed the Maduro matter with Russia’s Putin aiming at influencing the relationship that President Trump promotes to end Russia’s invasion to Ukraine. International actions to protect the transnational organized crime, attempting to return it to the political scenario, before the other dictatorships are identified with the same criteria as Venezuela.

The most important satellite dictatorship of the Cuban dictatorship’s expansion in this 21st century has been identified and treated as a criminal group. Its criminal operations are globally known and Venezuela is a kidnapped country that is occupied by a criminal band. What is now oncoming is the enforcement of the law with the obligation of all countries to fulfill the intent of the Palermo Convention or the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime.

*Lawyer & 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».