Truculence and brutality

What was perhaps suspected, but not believed, is happening: Warning signs have been triggered. Latin Americans, not given to disputes among themselves, saw American vessels approaching in the Caribbean Sea, armed to the teeth. Under what pretext? Nothing that, in that region, constitutes a real danger: combating drug traffickers. As if awarding the Nobel Prize to a right-wing extremist, with the word "coup plotter" inscribed on her biography and forehead, wasn't enough, Donald Trump let slip that the CIA will orchestrate the overthrow of the regime in Caracas. He intends to replace President Maduro with someone docile to his interests. It is assumed, with certainty, that Chávez's heirs will not rouse the people. A grave mistake. At best, they will impose rejected puppets, in addition to those of the old elite's supporters.

The bravado is already proving costly. Five barges, fired upon from a distance, were destroyed in seconds, their passengers killed, against international and even American regulations. They weren't searched. They didn't check if the passengers were fishermen or not. They simply shot them. In the last incident, they saw there were survivors to rescue. Actions of this kind to boost voter popularity can be a double-edged sword. For now, the rest of the continent watches these excesses with a mixture of dissatisfaction, perplexity, and fear, worried that the disturbance will promote social trauma, including the immigration of refugees. In Brazil, armed attacks in its vicinity are repudiated. We are a nation of peace, as President Lula preaches. We will have to introduce new themes into the ongoing understandings between Rubio and Mauro Vieira...

Beyond Maduro's protests at the UN, the truth is that those who believe we have entered an era of civilization in the treatment of customs are mistaken. Fate dictates that the wealthy among our neighbors will claim to be the declared owners of a doctrine established – by them. Since the White House ignores diplomatic dictates, it is quite possible that what began as a boast will end in a great and regrettable tragedy. 

Democratic systems have been capable of extraordinary choices regarding political leaders. They also make bizarre selections of unprepared individuals. After all, Hitler came to power through votes. Trump and Javier Milei, likewise. The fact that they are bound by mandates guarantees a sigh of relief. In the meantime, however, unpleasant surprises arise, poorly adapted to standards of freedom. In the United States, measures against universities, foreigners, and opponents are being seen. And protest demonstrations are growing. In Argentina, the crisis surpasses predictions, with the population paying the price. How far will the two dare to go? – that is the question that persists.

In a world that has not become accustomed to living without war, peace among nations is nothing but an illusion. Even so, we believed we had developed our own ways of dealing with problems. The heavy hand that weighs on the Caribbean reveals otherwise. Those in the North are not friends. They are ambitious, with improvised theories about fearsome enemies, even though these enemies besiege them from the Pacific and not from this side. And arguments are useless. Arbitrary force needs blood.