WHY CARICOM WILL BE VERY CAUTIOUS AFTER THE ARREST OF VENEZUELAN NARCO-DICTATOR NICOLAS MADURO MOROS

For years, Caribbean leaders - especially those in left-leaning Labour governments - closed their eyes to Venezuela's descent into dictatorship, political assassinations, and narco-trafficking. When millions of Venezuelans were crushed, or forced into exile, CARICOM remained silent. When elections were widely denounced as fraudulent, Caribbean leaders lined up in Caracas  to congratulate Maduro.

That protection is now gone; With Maduro neutralized, the real danger for the Member states of CARICOM is what is revealed next.  Any unraveling of Venezuelan criminal networks raises explosive questions: Which Caribbean politicians benefitted from Venezuelan money?  To quote from the Maduro indictment, by the United States Department of Justice "... politicians along the 'Caribbean route' corrupted by cocaine traffickers, who would pay them for protection from arrest, and to allow favored traffickers to operate with impunity as they trafficked cocaine from Venezuela north towards the United States."

Which ones received logistical, political or electoral support? Who ignored repression in exchange for favors, Maduro's dirty suitcase of cash, and fraudulent deals? The U.S. military operation is very bad news for China, Cuba, Colombia, and for the Hezbollah terrorist drug trafficking operation in Venezuela, and for whoever took dirty money from Maduro.

CARICOM Members understand one thing clearly; when the thread is pulled in Caracas, it does not stop there. Maduro is now in U.S. custody, facing a probable prison sentence of Life without Parole, and he will talk to avoid that outcome. The next few weeks are expected to see crucial developments from the United States Department of Justice.

The conclusion is that President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the U.S. military have changed the geopolitical environment in the Caribbean and Latin America. The United States Army and Donald Trump have taken back control of the Western Hemisphere.