It’s been a week since the Diosdado/Shannon picture show and we’ve read many hypothesis over what had to happen to get that photo opp. Both Jackson Diehl and Heinz Dietrich believe it had to do with Leopoldo Lopez’s release. While Diehl says the US is looking to release tension on the region by the release…
I’ll tell you what I do find significant about the revelation that the U.S. now has a long and fast-growing list of witnesses explaining how Diosdado Cabello’s sprawling drug-running operation works in minute detail: The Briefing. Just imagine the kinds of intelligence briefings Thomas Shannon must be giving to cancillerías all up and down the…
As per usual, Quico and I see the unfolding scandal that is Diosdado Cabello way differently. While Quico thinks this whole charade is only of interest to historians, I think the unraveling of the Suns Cartel has tremendous implications for the power balance within chavismo. First off, I want to highlight my favorite parts from José…
José de Córdoba and Juan Forero’s piece in the Wall Street Journal today confirms what we’d all figured: there’s a cottage industry in Washington and Miami tasked with fattening up the file on Diosdado Cabello, An elite unit of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Washington and federal prosecutors in New York and Miami are building…
No reason to beat around the bush: Marleny Contrera de Cabello, wife of Diosdado Cabello (President of the Venezuelan Congress), was just appointed Minister of Tourism. Seems like the Cabello family just binged on the last season of House of Cards, and suddenly craved some nepotism Underwood style. Madame Cabello, will be replacing Andrés Izarra, who…
On Monday afternoon, rumors started building on a story that would headline the Spanish newspaper, ABC, on Tuesday: “Security Chief of Chavista number 2 flees to the US and acuses him of drug smuggling.” By Chavista number 2 —you may not agree— the reporter, ABC’s Washington correspondent Emili J. Blasco, meant the President of the National Assembly,…
On any normal day, Diosdado Cabello penning a lie-filled Op-Ed for The New York Times about Venezuela’s human rights record would have been the big story. But today was so crazy, the only bit of his Op-Ed anyone will remember will be the third-to-last paragraph. It took me a third reading to get it, and I think…
Earlier this week, chavismo’s hippest Troll Princess posted four pictures on Instagram showing four sides of her family. There’s no doubt she was engineered just to patch up her dad’s public face and present him as an approachable fella’. In these pics, we can see the almighty President of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, wearing an apron and just goofin’…
A few days ago I wrote about how nobody knows what the MUD is up to these days. To make matters even more confusing, today we hear that Roberto Enríquez, president of COPEI, one of the parties in the MUD, is asking Diosdado Cabello to join them in a transition government. His elevator speech? “Radical” chavistas…
Missing from the news cycle last week was the decision of a Caracas lower court deciding to hear a lawsuit brought by National Assembly Chairman Diosdado Cabello against the owners of Caracas tabloid Tal Cual (including the paper’s founder and editor, the legendary Teodoro Petkoff and former Science & Technology Minister Carlos Genatios) for defamation. The judge banned Genatios…
Lest you think that any notion of feigning “institutional restraint” through State media outlets was officially dead, in swoops Captain Diosdado Cabello to hammer that last nail firmly in the coffin. Last night, the stellar debut of Cabello’s weekly Monday-night talk show was simulcast over VTV and several other official broadcast channels. In an unequivocal echo of…
Access to the first session of the National Assembly after its month-long recess will be even more restricted than usual: not only private media is banned from covering it, but even most state media outlets will be shut out as well. Only the AN’s own radio and TV station will be allowed to cover this afternoon’s session.…
Primero Justicia congressman Richard Mardo was stripped of his parliamentary immunity yesterday. In a 97-68 vote (that’s 59-41 in percentage terms, in case you’re wondering) the chavista majority in the National Assembly (read: Diosdado Cabello and his minions) pretty much took away his popular mandate, and in the process used Article 187 of the Constitution as…
Ahhh…the lazy days of Venezuelan summer. Perfect for strolling through streets perfumed of sun-ripened mangoes, whistling to the Efe ice cream song on balmy Friday afternoons…and, if you’re Diosdado Cabello, trying your hand at some good old political persecution. With two weeks left before the National Assembly goes on summer recess, MUD politicians busy figuring out…
Last night, Twitter came of age in the Venezuelan public sphere. For as long as we can remember, if the opposition wanted to get its message out, it went to Globovisión, the staunchly opposition all-news cable channel. The M.O. would usually go like this: opposition politician would spout off their message, Globovisión would transmit it…
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