I'm John Batsu with my colleague, Evan Ellis, Professor Evan Ellis of the U.S. Army

War College, discussing the Americas.

This is the America's report.

And before I say a word about the very big election in 2025, the Mexican election, attending

two Beijing's embrace of Nicholas Maduro, the dictator of Venezuela.

Many of the migrants coming through the Darien Gap at great risk for themselves and their

children and their futures and in New York and the streets of New York and the shelters

in New York and other cities across the country are from Venezuela.

As a direct product, probably I'm guessing now a direct policy of the Venezuela regime

to drive out people who are hungry or who need care or who see no future in a dictatorship

that is influenced by Beijing and Moscow and Tehran.

But in any event, the news is that Nicholas Maduro has been in Beijing where he's been

embraced by the Chinese Communist Party.

Is this news, Professor?

Was this always implicit?

Is Maduro's trip to Beijing and to party with the party?

Does that change the flavor of Caracas?

Well, certainly, John, trying to begin to move back towards a more overt relationship

with the populist at Chavista regime in Venezuela is news in terms of both its future and its

solvency and also with respect to Beijing's position in the region.

So basically, you would have in the days of Hugo Chavez a very close relationship.

So from about 2008 through 2013 under Hugo Chavez and then under the beginnings of the

...