Category: Foreign Policy and International Affairs

On the morning of January 3, U.S. special operations forces arrested Venezuelan leader Nicolás
Maduro in a highly coordinated operation that immediately drew global attention. U.S.
authorities allege that Maduro oversaw an extensive drug-trafficking network that harmed
American interests. Critics, some quoted by The New York Times, questioned whether the scale
of narcotics flows from other regions poses a more immediate threat, raising broader questions
about the operation’s justification.

In the first part of this interview, Luis Fleischman, an expert in international relations, sociology professor at Palm Beach State College, and founding co-chair of the Palm Beach Center for Democracy, revealed the criminal roots that sustain the Nicolás Maduro regime and its close collaboration with armed groups and illicit structures operating inside and outside Venezuela.

In this exclusive interview with Diálogo, Luis Fleischman, an expert in international relations, sociology professor at Palm Beach State College, and founding co-chair of the Palm Beach Center for Democracy, reveals the complex and murky criminal architecture that sustains the Nicolás Maduro regime. With a highly detailed perspective, Fleischman describes how Venezuela went from being an oil power to becoming the hub of a regional drug trafficking network.

El Premio Nobel de Paz entregado a María Corina Machado ha sacudido el panorama político venezolano y ha abierto preguntas cruciales: ¿qué significa este reconocimiento para la legitimidad del régimen de Maduro?, ¿podría desatar una implosión interna?, ¿se acelera finalmente una transición democrática?

En esta entrevista exclusiva, el analista y académico Luis Fleischman, experto en transiciones políticas y seguridad hemisférica, explica cómo interpreta Estados Unidos el Nobel, qué mensaje envía a las Fuerzas Armadas, cómo puede cambiar la correlación de poder dentro del chavismo y si este premio internacional presiona al régimen hacia una salida negociada o hacia un mayor aislamiento.

Dr. Luis Fleischman has recently been featured in a wide range of Spanish-language media outlets—including CNN en Español, NTN24, Radio Martí, and América TV—where he discussed issues such as the Middle East, the deployment of U.S. warships in the Caribbean, and the Russia–Ukraine crisis. He has also published several articles in The National Interest, the Jerusalem Strategic Tribune, and Newsmax. All articles are available on our website. Additionally, Dr. Fleischman provided commentary on U.S. naval deployments in the Caribbean in interviews with The New York Sun and Diálogo Américas, a publication of U.S. Southern Command.