LyrArc Article Gist
July 4th for the 250th of America was celebrated in the Badlands of North Dakota under Mount Rushmore and the carvings of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, the presidents who defined this Nation. "There is a silence over the Badlands and the whole universe over Kansas was still by the whisper of a prayer," these are the opening lines of the Song of the Badlands by Rich Mullins. Senator Cramer of North Dakota said these lines with much emotion as he opened the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Meduro, North Dakota for America 250th on July 4th. This is the region under God's skies, land stretching out forever under the sky in stillness, almost desolate till the sun rises and it all comes to life. The region Teddy Roosevelt went to as a young person for healing in the 1880's  (1884-1887) after the loss of his mother and first wife within days. Relevant Magazine shows in this description of the North Dakota territory what the place does in inviting prayer. TR then took this silence and this prayer into the vast project of building America as the leader of the nations of the world by 1900 and the turn of the century. This is the inspiration for America on the 250th, this July 4th. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Maria Corina Machado's  attempts to return to Venezuela following the earthquake in June 2026. Marco Rubio is sympathetic to her wish to return but thinks this may not be the right time and delay elections even further. US has raised the question with Venezuelan government leader Delcy Rodriguez about Machado's return. The intent is to make a transition, but before this can be done the conditions have to be created for a stable government in the interests of the Venezuelan people after many years of Chavismo and the structures he has left behind that could create risks if not covered properly. In that sense Delcy Rodriguez is part of the transition. Rubio told the US Senate at a hearing in Congress that people forget it is only 6 months since the arrest of Maduro and transfer to the US on Jan 1, 2026, and that in that time the US has ensured that all Venezuelan oil sales are made to benefit the Venezuelan people's needs by being deposited into aVenezuelan bank Account at Treasury without the siphoning off of funds that happened before. This is not an insignificant point, it is basic to Venezuela's economic recovery after its disastrous experience with Chavismo and mismanagement of the economy. For the first time Venezuela can export without sanctions which means higher oil sales, and for the first time American oil companies are encouraged and taking interest in investing in modernizing the oil industry in Venezuela. Chavismo itself shows that democracy is not always the instant answer to all questions, that the conditions for democracy need to be established or it will be destroyed and conditions can get worse. This is true today because Venezuela's democratic parties and institutions were destroyed by Hugo Chavez and the country could descend into chaos because of the militias he has created- it will take time to create the right conditions. Rubio and DJT understand this. What people forget is that the US can leave the Middle East but it cannot leave the Western hemisphere and the conditions in the Western hemisphere in the American continent have to be secured so that the US and Latin America can ensure the prosperity of the continent learning from past mistakes. Mistakes under previous administrations that allowed a drift into chaotic environments which led to migration of one third of the Venezuelan people about 7 million to the US and Colombia, other countries, and in Mexico a problem with growth of drug cartels affecting good governance destroying US borders. The Monroe Doctrine served a purpose by keeping out colonial powers from the Americas in the 1820's to the 1950's to benefit the Americas, letting it fade led to today's problems that are much worse than some of the smaller errors in US policy that can be corrected keeping the US overall benevolent disposition towards all of the Latin American nations for economic progress and shared prosperity. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
US sets up diplomatic ties to Venezuela March 6 2026. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum visits Caracas and is shown here with Delcy Rodriguez.

LyrArc Article Gist
With hyperinflation of an astounding 1 million percent, the popularity of Mr. Maduro has slipped to 14%, says this report in the Washington Post. The opposition leader has about 60% popularity according to a recent Datanalysis poll. The military, says the Washington Post, is not defending Maduro, it is defending themselves. Even a amnesty law may not be sufficient. 

LyrArc Article Gist
China's loans and projects in Latin America and the unwinding of projects in 2026. China had shifted policy to collecting back $10 billion of loans to Venezuela in meetings of its envoy with Maduro the day the US acted to remove Maduro, says this report in WSJ. China is shifting to reduce losses in the region from loans. Over last 2 decades China has loaned Venezuela $100 billion in exchange for oil shipments. As its oil industry production declined without US assistance Venezuela went deeper in debt. This is another aspect of the problems that this type of model of development brings to finance building of rail and transport, seen across the world from Venezuela down to small countries like Sri Lanka and Zambia. For China this could amount to hundreds of billions of dollars in loans that lack transparency and are opaque to Africa and Latin America, when its construction industry debt and local government debt has led to problems. Other solutions and alternatives are needed.   ...

LyrArc Article Gist
It took 12 hours after Maduro's capture for Berlin to respond. Chancellor Merz of the CDU and Lars Klingbeil of the SPD Deputy Chancellor are in a coalition government, with the SPD taking a different and cautious view than the CDU. Both agree that the Maduro government was illegitimate and about human rights abuses.The final statement said the Maduro government was illegitimate and had human rights abuses, and welcomed the change. It also was cautious in its wording as it was concerned about implications for international law. No mention was made of drug trafficking to the European Union from Venezuela and its impact on European society as a concern, but this must be a concern that European leaders have. European leaders have failed to bring this up which can be mystifying for people outside Europe knowing the increasing damage drug trafficking is doing to European society, including France, Italy and Germany.

LyrArc Article Gist
DJT MAGA factions in general support action in Venezuela and in Western Hemisphere for Monroe Doctrine, this includes J.D. Vance, Steve Bannon and Hispanic supporters from Cuba and Latin America in Florida. They support action to bring drug traffickers to justice in the Western Hemisphere. Essentially supporting the Monroe Doctrine that no colonial European or other foreign powers should interfere in the running of Latin America in the western democratic tradition set by Britain and the United States, and now popular throughout Asia and Latin America and Africa. The government in Venezuela say Canada and Britain is illegitimate and lost the 2024 election by a huge margin 30% or lower to 67% for the opposition under Machado and Gonzalez. And the drug trafficking by Maduro and his associates against the US is an offence that can be tried in US courts, is something Republicans support, and has general support in America. Worse drug trafficking to the European Union constitutes something the Europeans should be worried about because of its growing scale and damage to Europe. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Venezuela's Maduro faces trial in the US and Judge Alvin Hellerstein 92 years old in the Southern District of New York is presiding over that case. There is no mandatory retirement age for judges which means they can be practicing well into their 90's. The concern expressed by experts is that the case could go on for years and the judge's health had to be good for that period.

LyrArc Article Gist
Actas or slips like receipts from every time a voter votes are generated from voting machines in Venezuela. Enough actas were collected in the Venezuela elections that show a landslide win with a 38% margin for Gonzalez over Maduro. The Maduro government has not accepted the result. It shows 7.3 million votes for Gonzalez, a former diplomat, to 3.3 million for Maduro the successor of Chavez, says the Wall Street Journal. For president Biden it was the surge in Venezuelan migrants flow and the refusal of Maduro government to take back migrants making deportation difficult, that precipitated the immigration crisis as an issue in the 2024 elections. The problem was tackled by closing the border with Biden taking executive action, after the law closing the border cleared the Senate in February but was held up in the House by Mr. Trump. Trump hoped to benefit from the Border issue to get elected in November 2024 held it up. That law was negotiated by Republicans McConnell and Lankford and Biden. Kamala Harris says the first thing she will do if elected is to pass that law. Republicans like the Tories in the UK are now seen as pandering on the issue to keep power, not keen on resolving it once and for all. As we show from the example of Mette Frederiksen in Denmark and her far sighted thinking it is possible to be good for workers and families, and tough on immigration that hurts workers by creating like foreign wars a huge and unnecessary distraction. Why for instance must workers and families live from paycheck to paycheck because of misgovernance in Asia or Africa or Arab world ,or deliberately created wars to empty countries of population as in Arab lands. Taking the issue up in the countries themselves with whatever action is needed was the right answer from the beginning, and lost on Merkel and other leaders in the US and Europe. Lessons are learned and now action must be taken. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Deteriorating economic conditions in Venezula under Maduro and the failure of the Maduro administration to tackle problems facing the economy- inflation, oil subsidies, declining currency, and lack of investment.

LyrArc Article Gist
Marina Corina Machado shown with her son and daughter in Caracas on Sunday. The Venezuelan leader wins a primary that was held throughout the country with the help of civilians groups. About 2.3 million Venezuelans turned out to vote in a country of 28 million people where many have emigrated overseas or are refugees in neighboring countries with increasing scarcities, high inflation and difficult economic conditions which could have been prevented. The UN reports 7 million refugees or migrated or about 25% of the population.

LyrArc Article Gist
Marco Rubio has shown an exceptional grasp of Latin America from his days representing Florida in the Senate, about a decade in the Senate when he has closely followed events and acquired a deep knowledge of Latin America. His answers at Congressional hearing were exceptionally good, and showed an ability and earnest desire to get good results for the Venezuelan people, sharing aninterest in the good for Latin America being a person of latin American origin who speaks fluent Spanish as a native language. Points made by Venezuela in answering questions from senators in the US Senate hearings- All of Latin America welcomed the US action to remove Maduro from Venezuela.  It affects Colombia and neighboring countries. Colombian rebel groups control parts of Venezuelan territory and operate from there.  Multiple administrations had deals with Maduro. Maduro kept none of the deals including the one with Biden for free and fair elections.  To be realistic in situations such as Spain, Paraguay, there were transitions before safe and fair return to normalcy and democratic government returned after decades of dictatorship. RUbio showed an exceptional grasp of the Latin Ameican situation and reminded senator Murphy that he had been in the Senate for decade and worked with the senators now on the other side to remove Maduro amd nothing had worked. Venezuela is a rich country , the most affluent in Latin America. It does not need money from the US. Before the Chavez dictatorship it was a country with democratic forms of government, and a country friendly to the US.  The action taken was a quarantine not a blockade. By controlling oil going out of Venezuela the lifeline for the country the US has control over its finances and the economy, budgets, the government finances. The immediate task was getting the oil out of the country as there was no place to put it and US had it sold at market prices not sent to China at a 20% discount for which Venezuela got nothing except paying off debt to China. The current authorites are cooperating with the US on the budget, they have to submit budget requests and the US approves it item by item and an audit agency is being set up including Ex-Im. Bank an other options to make sure the money is being spent on salaries and for the Venezuelan people. The money goes to an account for Venezuela at the US Treasury Department. In 4 weeks a lot has been accomplished. What happens in 6 months - for that actions are more important than words, it should be a marked improvement over today. Including setting up the US diplomatic presence in Caracas which means talking to the government on the ground, talking to civil society, talking to the Opposition.  ...

LyrArc Article Gist
With crushing one million percent inflation, workers at state enterprises are now meeting Mr. Guiado as he works to setup a new government that can tackle the economic problems facing the country. 

LyrArc Article Gist
Strong criticism from Attorney General Luisa Ortega, and dissension inside the government, led to the Supreme Court retracting parts of its decision to nullify the powers of the legislature. Ortega called the move "a rupture of the constitutional order." Most of the judges are appointed on the court by the Maduro government. Strong criticism by the OAS calling it a "self inflicted coup", by other governments in Latin America, also led to retracting parts of the decision by the Supreme Court. Nicholas Maduro succeeded Mr. Chavez who was the democratically elected president of Venezuela from 1999 to 2013. Maduro narrowly won the election in 2013 by a margin of about 1.5% over Henrique Capriles. In 2015 in National Assembly elections the opposition parties won a majority in the National Assembly. Protests against the Maduro government were followed by a recall attempt in 2016 which was suppressed. Inflation and economic conditions in Venezuela worsened under Maduro with the collapse of oil prices. The devaluation of the currency, high inflation and shortages of basic goods have led to widespread protests. As the situation worsened the Supreme Court in support of the government gradually chipped away at the powers of the National Assembly since 2016, leading to the situation in April 2016 with  the effort to strip the Assembly of all powers and remove the immunity from prosecution of legislators. Maduro is a former bus driver for the city of Caracas bus system, and a trade unionist. He was part of the movement supporting Chavez release after a coup attempt, foreign minister 2006-2013, and appointed Chavez successor in 2012.  Max Fisher and Amanda Taub of the NYT go on to discuss the writings of political scientists, including Dutch expert Cas Mudde, who pointed out that populism often starts its climb because established institutions and elites have become unresponsive to pubic needs. Yet the replacement is with what starts out as an effort to bring fairness- yet ends up creating another elite, suppressing opposition, and creating a new set of problems, even threatening the institutional framework of democracy such as elected assembly as happened last week in Venezuela.  In Venezuela the Chavez populist movement was initially intended to reduce corruption in the court system, the established parties control over media, and ensure oil revenues were used to provide services to poor regions and neighborhoods.  In the process over two decades it introduced a system that set up a Bolivarist class of its own based on socialist goals, failed to integrate the economy into the global economy for modernization, and created an overdependence on oil revenues that hurt the country when prices dropped sharply. High inflation, corruption, shortages of basic goods, and an economy slipping behind neighboring countries in Latin America, are the result by 2017. Seeing the situation in Venezuela in the context of current populist trends in the U.S. and Europe may be a stretch because the situation in Venezuela is unique to Latin America in some ways and is from an earlier period. High inflation, collapsing economy, debt problems and mismanagement of the economy, devaluation of currency, are problems faced by Brazil, Argentina, and other countries in Latin America, happening under conservative as well as populist governments since the 1960's. It is different in two respects, the disconnect with the global economy that prevents modernization, and the trend towards authoritarianism, as seen in Venezuela.     ...