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

Strategic Studies Institute.

We're looking at all of the Americas, but one country more than any other stands out as non-transparent and dangerous.

That's Venezuela, in the control of the bully boys around Maduro, but also bad

actress from overseas. There's reason to believe that Maduro is extremely sympathetic to

Moscow, to Tehran, to Beijing, to Pyongyang, to Beirut, Hisbalah. However, he is now installed as the illegitimate president again of

Venezuela. The opposition has been noble, but its efforts at this point are stopped to my understanding.

The actual winner of the election, Gonzalez-Zarete, is not welcome in Venezuela and has chosen not to return

to be persecuted. The opposition in Venezuela is again bold but can be in flight from the authorities,

some of whom are Cuban secret police. I mention all this because there's talk I'm told in the opposition that the Trump administration may be looking at a deal with Maduro about oil and about taking back the migrants who could not be in the United States now in general unless the Darying Gap was open.

That's the only way from Venezuela to the United States over land, the Darian Gap.

So, does Maduro refuse them? Does he take them back?

Professor, I know this is worry-wording, and opposition parties tend to do that.

But right now, what is the status of oil, the U.S., and

Maduro after the Biden administration? Where is it? As you point out, this is a very frustrating

situation for the Venezuelan opposition and many who recognize that Venezuela presents a

threat directly and indirectly to U.S. national security.

As you point out, the continuation of the Maduro regime is an open door for cooperation with Hezbollah,

military cooperation with the Russians, as we saw through the receipt of the Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov,

cooperation with China in various troublesome ways, organized crime collaboration,

which allows organized crime activities, including illegal mining flows and, you know,

cocaine productions and transits throughout the Americas.

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