Dear Editor,
On the heels of losing the most recent round of elections held in the US, the Democrats have been more active in the weeks following their defeat in dealing with foreign policy than they were for the entire four-year term of President Joe Biden. Earlier this week it was announced that a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon was agreed upon by both parties as a result of US intervention and negotiation. There has also been a markedly stronger level of dialogue taking place between the US and Ukraine regarding their approach to defending their territory from Russian annexation after a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile destroyed the town of Dnipro in Ukraine. The decision by the US to arm Ukraine with more advanced weaponry came after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that “A lack of tough reactions to Russia’s actions sends a message that such behaviour is acceptable”, which echoed sentiments pointed towards the weakness of the Biden administration for years. But all of this pales in the face of action being taken against Nicolas Maduro and Venezuela in the past few weeks.
Last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken formally announced through his social media page that the US formally recognizes Edmundo González Urrutia as the victor in the recent election held in July 2024, and considers him to be the valid President of Venezuela. In a follow-up press conference held by the Department of State, a spokesperson confirmed this stance and alluded to further steps being taken by the US to install González to the Presidency. At the same time this was taking place, the BOLIVAR Act was being passed in Congress and actively prevents any American governmental organization or entity from entering into a contract with a Venezuelan government official or agency for as long as Nicolas Maduro remains in the President’s office. While this legislation deliberately refrained from targeting any individual or entity that currently holds an OFAC license, however, only this morning the Office of Foreign Assets Control announced that they will be extending their sanctions against individuals known to be directly affiliated with the Nicolas Maduro regime.
While there have been persons who already noted these issues may have an impact on Dragon Gas, such as the presentation recently put forward by Chief Whip Dr. David Lee, there is some nuance to the situation that is interesting in how they are taking place, rather than what is actually occurring. Because there was an expectation following the Republican blowout in the recent election, in which they captured the Presidency as well as control of both the Congress and Senate, that they would be the ones to put the squeeze on Nicolas Maduro, especially as it had already been three months since the Venezuelan election had ended, and the Biden administration had taken very little action so far. So it is not only interesting to see the outgoing Secretary of State make their announcement invalidating Maduro two months later than the Republicans did following the 2019 election, but also, that the BOLIVAR Bill was not only co-sponsored by Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman-Schultz but also for it to pass with bipartisan support in the Congress.
Everything that I have mentioned demonstrates an intent by the Democrat party to appear more hardline on issues that they were criticized for back-burnering in the past four years and costing them an election victory. But what this means practically, and especially for the Dragon Gas deal, is that the Democrats are going to show the same level, if not greater, aggression than the Republicans in how they treat with Nicolas Madura and Venezuela. All this because the Dems believe that in doing so, they might be able to win back the “LatinX” voter bloc who rallied in support of Donald Trump in the recent election, while T&T and other nations are left to face the consequences of these types of rash decisions.
Best regards,
Ravi Balgobin Maharaj
