English
Español
Since successful launch and completion of Operation Southern Spear in Venezuela, a development that could hardly have been foreseen has emerged: the spectacular rise of Delcy Rodriguez as Donald Trump's favourite foreign policy propaganda tool. President Trump latest war campaign in Iran has brought Delcy into focus, in the form of widespread comments across the globe, in diplomatic, political and media circles, pondering about whether the Trump administration has 1) managed to identify -within Iran's terrorist theocratic ranks- Delcy's equivalent, and 2) whether it will succeed in installing such a figure, like it did in Venezuela. So Delcy Rodriguez, a figure universally despised in Venezuela due to an appalling and unpalatable track record, has become (outside of Venezuela) an example of the kind of "moderate" leader the Trump administration is looking forward to work with.
Nothing short of total subservience will do for Trump, who has already said that he has to be consulted in selecting Iran's future transitional leader. The notion is impossible to swallow. In both nations, victims of decades of terror and abuses and their relatives cannot turn the page, just because Trump says so. In all likelihood, regime supporters in both nations will bide their time too, knowing expiry date of current White House incumbent whose successor will most probably revise and amend current policies. Justice and revenge are, and will continue to be, deeply rooted feelings that neither camp is prepared to forget.
In the case of Iran, it is entirely unreasonable to expect that its affiliated terrorist groups are going to surrender. If anything, attacks launched jointly by Israel and the U.S. will only sharpen their resolve. The whole world is fair game to these fanatics, and they will certainly continue doing whatever they can long after Trump is gone.
Coming back to Delcy, as an example of leadership able to keep the peace, such a possibility as far as Iran is concerned is realistic only in White House press conferences and for Truth Social audiences. Iran is not Venezuela. Extreme religious ideology has never been a characteristic of chavismo, which rather fits the definition of Kakocracy. Indeed, Delcy and her brother Jorge are the epitome of unscrupulousness. They would betray each other, if demanded of them, if that meant survival. Can anyone think such behaviour could be expected from say Mojtaba Khamenei, or any of his brothers?
To be fair, Operation Southern Spear is unquestionably the most successful example perhaps ever of regime change in which the U.S. has been involved, with the ony caveat that no regime was changed. Taking Maduro and Cilia away was never going to be a struggle for the word's most powerful and technologically advanced army, but dismantling chavismo? In that they won't succeed, despite the propaganda and Delcy's "collaboration".
Venezuela is a unique problem in most respects, and so is Delcy. She may well be the darling of President Trump, for political expediency, but she's neither a moderate nor someone who will bring Venezuela back to democracy. She's probably already planning her next career move: to be elected President of Venezuela, with Operation Southern Spear's aftermath and the Trump's administration support as base of the presidential campaign in which she ran unopposed.
