In Davos, I participated in a #WEF26 session on Venezuela. My message in short: there is a clear path to recover Venezuela quickly and sustainably, but it is not the path we are in. The good path needs to start with reestablishing basic rights. Without that, neither people, nor capital will return. To re-establish rights: political prisoners have to be freed, not released in dribs and drabs with unacceptable restrictions to their liberty. Exiles should be allowed to return. And a timetable for elections should be negotiated NOW with the leaders of the opposition. These measures would cause people to return, reenergize the economy and organize for the campaign. It would stabilize politics. I fail to see why these three steps should be done gradually. If people are convinced they are free to go back securely, the economy will recover. If there is no freedom, money injections will just deliver a sugar high. The current path risks entrenching the regime. It will have incentives to wait the US out. A thread below.
En #entrevista con Jorge Ramos, Rodrigo Diamanti denuncia la tortura como política de Estado en Venezuela: asfixia, violencia sexual y tratos crueles documentados por víctimas y organismos internacionales.
Sin verdad ni justicia, no hay transición.
#QueSeanTodos
Look closely: Delcy Rodríguez, the unelected vice president and the official who oversees El Helicoide, the largest torture center in the Western Hemisphere, is sworn in by her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, the Rasputin of the regime. Between them stands Nicolás Maduro Jr., the deposed dictator’s son, as if power were an inheritance and Venezuela a family estate. Nepotism, fear, and impunity in one frame. This triumvirate will not last long. Mark my words.
Let me share a personal anecdote. I served as a diplomat in Caracas when she was the Foreign Minister. I attended several meetings that she chaired, and they were honestly the worst official meetings I have ever experienced. So much for calling her “moderate.”
She often called meetings and then arrived hours late. When she finally showed up, she would immediately start scolding diplomats who had been publicly critical of the government’s persecution of the opposition. I felt genuinely uncomfortable watching her single out individual diplomats in front of everyone.
Her attitude showed no understanding of protocol, no professionalism, and no respect for basic diplomatic courtesy. In my view, she is not moderate at all. Within the regime, she can actually be even more hardline than Maduro.
My column on Venezuela in @TheEconomist
“Prosperity does not come from oil, decrees or even benevolent rulers. It comes from rights. Rights create private property. Rights create security. Rights create debate. Rights allow people to invest, to innovate, to dream—and to transform reality. Take rights away, and society withers. Restore them, and recovery is possible.”
https://t.co/BuPYeGVGKs
Speaking during an exclusive interview tonight with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado says that she has not spoken to President Donald J. Trump since the capture Saturday of Nicolás Maduro, stating that Vice President, now Interim President, Delcy Rodríguez is a “main ally and liaison with Russia, China, Iran. Certainly not an individual that could be trusted by international investors, and she’s rejected the Venezuelan People.” Machado added that she plans to return to Venezuela “as soon as possible” from her exile abroad, in addition to who many claim is the rightful President of Venezuela, Edmundo Gonzalez, who is currently living in Spain.
Durante años denuncié a la dictadura criminal venezolana, de la cual el gobierno argentino llegó a ser socio y cómplice. Apoyé a sus presidentes electos, denuncié el fraude y siempre estuve del lado de la querida María Corina Machado, la gran luchadora por la libertad de Venezuela. Hoy celebro la detención de Nicolás Maduro, y ver llegar a su fin la impunidad de un dictador que se creía eterno. Espero que el orden democrático pueda restablecerse de inmediato. Se inicia una época nueva: Latinoamérica recupera un país secuestrado por una dictadura.
"Delcy Rodríguez es una de las personas más comprometidas con esta nefasta dictadura, ¿con qué autoridad moral puede venir a conducir una transición hacia la democracia una mujer que ha representado la autocracia, la corrupción, el narcotráfico en Venezuela?", @JoseRaulMulino, presidente de Panamá.
https://t.co/zfsxhWSxf8
Muchas gracias, Presidente Macron.
La libertad de TODOS los presos políticos es nuestra inmediata prioridad.
Le pido a los jefes de Estado y de Gobierno y a todos los demócratas del mundo que nos apoyen en esta hora decisiva.
Venezuela será libre.
Venezuela aún está en dictadura.
No somos libres.
El aparato represivo sigue activo.
Aún hay presos políticos y los exiliados no pueden volver.
Todo esto debe cambiar porque el chavismo es un foco de riesgo y desestabilización regional.
El poder no residía solo en Maduro.
John Bolton: “What I have to say, the most stunning part about the press conference was probably saying the U.S. was going to run the country. But the second most stunning was the assault on Mrs. Machado, the leader of the Democratic forces.”
Venezuela has a leader and her name is @MariaCorinaYa. She has earned the respect, love and following of millions of Venezuelans through decades of hard work and great sacrifice. Venezuela voted for her in 2024. Remember that fact and share, share, share.
🇺🇸 Ron DeSantis criticó por blanda la política de Trump en la frontera y prometió una estrategia más agresiva, que incluye la “fuerza letal” de las autoridades locales, para poner freno a la inmigración irregular que cruza desde México
🖋 @luispablob https://t.co/IY3yAfQcwI
These SEC actions are going to take years to play out and Gensler will probably not be the SEC chair by the time the actions are resolved
He just wants the headlines to pump his personal social capital - he couldn't care less about anything else