Nicolas Maduro, the former president of Venezuela, has been in power since 2013 and has been accused of being a dictator due to electoral fraud, human rights abuses, corruption and severe economic hardship. Today he is in a Brooklyn, New York jail.
He and wife Cilia Flores were arrested by U.S. troops and taken out of the country to stand trial on U.S. drug trafficking charges. They were scheduled to appear in court on Monday. Maduro faces charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and attempting to arrange a meeting between a large-scale drug trafficking organization and the director of Venezuela’s National Anti-Drug office.
There is much more to come about Venezuela in the days ahead.
While Maduro and his wife are adjusting to lifestyle changes, isn’t it time for Vladimir Putin to have an adjustment? Putin has been in power since 1999. He was appointed acting president after Boris Yeltsin’s resignation on Dec. 31, 1999 and then won the election in March 2000. Before that he served as the head of the Federal Security Service and as Secretary of the Security Council. He has been described as the de facto leader of Russian since 2000.
Putin has stayed in power by controlling the media and suppressing opposition voices. He has manipulated elections through voter suppression and ballot stuffing. Putin has arrested or exiled political opponents, has granted himself extended presidential terms through constitutional changes and has maintained a strong grip on the economy through state-controlled industries.
Since Putin took office Russia has been involved in conflicts in several countries including Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. Ukraine has been at the forefront of our news stories since his full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. His invasion actually began in 2014 but did not escalate until 2022. In 2014 he began invading Ukraine by annexing Crimea through a disputed referendum. Putin supported pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine with troops and equipment in April, 2014. He seized key infrastructure such as airports and government buildings. He engaged in clashes with Ukrainian forces resulting in thousands of deaths.
Since 2014, the estimated death toll in Ukraine, due to Putin’s actions, is around 323,000 people with an average of 7,690 killed per month. This includes over 14,000 military and civilian deaths during the War in Donbas, and 400,000 to 1.5 million casualties during the Russian invasion from February 24, 2022 until November 2025.
Will Putin really make a deal? He will if it is all in his favor. If he can totally control Ukraine he might agree to make a deal until he decides to invade another neighboring country. Putin’s deal includes recognition of the land Russia’s already taken. No NATO membership for Ukraine, and limits on their military. Ukraine’s President wants a full withdrawal of Russian troops and security guarantees. There have been some talks while Putin continues to kill and bomb Ukraine. Currently there doesn’t appear to be any stopping him from taking the entire country.
Maduro and Putin are both bad people. One is now in jail. The other continues to move forward killing at will.
— Dr. Glenn Mollette is read in all 50 states. He may be emailed at gmollette@aol.com.
