This is John Batcher, conversation with Mary Kistle, my colleague.

She served Mike Pompeo State Department and traveled widely.

I saw the limits of diplomacy, emphasized always by the Biden administration.

However, Mary has cautionary tale about diplomacy, not just in Venezuela, but also involving other parts of the Caribbean, chiefly in this instance,

Jamaica. The adversaries are linked. They are not individuals. They can't be dealt with singly. Is Mary

Kissel to explain more of this tonight? No, it hasn't, and it's of a piece of

the administration's approach to other enemies that we we have

The the issue is not simply Venezuela or simply China or simply Russia these nations are working together and you see that in

Venezuela where the Cubans provide security forces for Maduro where the

Chinese have come in where the Iranians traffic drugs and other bad things

It's it is a significant problem because it's right in our backyard and I've always found it remarkable that we don't pay more attention to these things because these problems don't stay in a single jurisdiction.

When we were in office, for instance, we went to meet the Premier of Jamaica, he told us about his trouble patrolling his waterways.

It's a small island, but waterways are actually quite large they need our help

You've got Chinese investment pouring into places like the Bahamas which is you know very short flight away from South Florida

These things don't tend to stay contained and that's why you need to be clear, realistic and truthful to the American people about what's actually going on,

particularly when it's within a stone's throw

of the United States and our territory and our people.