Just after 4:30 this morning it was announced that Venezuela was hit with a “large scale strike” in the middle of the night and that Maduro and his wife had been “captured” and flown out of the country with “in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement.” Videos from Reuters showed burning buildings in Caracas, Fuerte Tiuna, a sprawling military base, and La Guaira, where many military officers live. Welcome to gunboat diplomacy.
Let’s see, here. Marco Rubio told Utah Senator Mike Lee that Maduro would stand trial in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges. But we just released Honduran ex-President Hernandez who had been sentenced to umpteen years for his role in drug trafficking. Guess it depends on which drug trafficker the President likes.
Now, what happens next? There’s no question that many Venezuelans will be glad to see Maduro go, but many supported him. We have to ask ourselves: no matter what we may think of Maduro, what gives us the right to kidnap another country’s president? Makes you wonder how much our interest in Venezuelan oil had to do with all this. It will not end well.
Prayer for the Day
Awaking to announcements we never expected,
We ask ourselves what are the limits of power;
Unsure of response from the rest of the world,
We question actions supposedly taken on our behalf.
Be with us, Lord, as we live in uncertain times,
And struggle to be your disciples.
In the name of the One who is our guide,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
…incomprehensible, firing into a continent. Pop, would go one of the six-inch guns... There was a touch of insanity in the proceeding...
Joseph Conrad, from The Heat of Darkness (1857-1924)
Leadership and punching above your weight doesn't necessarily always have to mean gunboat diplomacy and bombing other countries into the stone age.
Clive Lewis, British politician (Labour)
God has become part of the divine council;
In the midst of the gods, God holds judgment:
“How long will you judge unjustly,
And show partiality to the wicked?
Psalm 82: 1-2