Nicolás Maduro committed the worst political crime imaginable: weakness.
As I argued some time ago, there is only one real difference between a dictator and a legitimate ruler. A legitimate ruler defends his power. A dictator loses it. Maduro failed to organize a defense, failed to maintain the loyalty of his own people, and failed at the decisive moment. Had he resisted and been killed in the process, he would today be remembered as a murdered hero. He did not. And so he is a dictator, destined to rot in an American prison.
He should be grateful he lives in the humane twenty-first century. In earlier eras, he would likely have been castrated and blinded as well.
Second.
It is common knowledge that the United States discards its “allies” the moment doing so brings even the slightest advantage. But the Americans are not unique in this regard. After Syria and Venezuela, it is now clear that alliances with Russia or China offer no greater security. Great powers protect interests, not friends.
Third.
Observe the confusion now spreading among Czech liberals as well as the so-called alternative opposition. Every kind of shout and declaration is being heard. In a few days, each ideological bubble will settle on a clear position. And a few days later, that position will be enforced through repression.
This is how politics works. Not ideals, not morality, but power, loyalty, and the capacity to act when the moment arrives.