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The Iberian Peninsula (home to Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar) has a distinguished history of having had some of Europe’s most powerful reigns. Portugal and Spain were global powers once upon a time, controlling vast regions well beyond its borders. Both countries had long and stable dictatorship in the 20th Century, that only came to an end with the peaceful passing of its respective dictators. The 21st Century has seen some spectacular corruption scandals in that region, the kind that would likely topple governments elsewhere.

Competing articles in the WaPo and WSJ paint a grim, if all-so-familiar picture of how Donald Trump’s “regime change” project in Venezuela is evolving.

The weekend brought news of the extradition to the U.S. of Nicolas Maduro’s favorite associate, Colombian “businessman” Alex Saab.

Depending on source of information, Venezuela carries a debt burden between 150 and 200 billion USD. And that's the first problem: nobody knows with exactitude how much it is, given the country stopped publishing accounts well over a decade ago. Nonetheless, U.S. puppet Delcy Rodriguez announced plans to restructure it and tapped none other than old friend Matthieu Pigasse, whose current bio doesn't even mention Venezuela.

A couple days ago, the FT published "'Kiss of death’: how the US killed a Swiss merchant bank. MBaer survived years of scrutiny at home — before Washington stepped in to seal its fate." The article goes into details regarding an investigation that the Swiss banking watchdog (FINMA) ran for years, before the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) from the United States

Venezuelan historian Manuel Caballero maintained that it was a mistake to try and pigeonhole Hugo Chavez within the traditional and descriptive ideological limits of socialism, conservatism, capitalism, communism, etc., claiming “Hugo Chávez no es comunista, ni socialista, ni musulmán, como dijo él alguna vez. Pero es todo eso a la vez si le garantizan que puede quedarse toda la vida en el poder. Chávez es chavista y lo que él adora de Fidel Castro no son las cosas que Fidel hizo o dejó de hacer en Cuba, sino su casi medio siglo en el poder.”

Spain's Prosecutor Santiago Pedraz dismissed the connection between Alejandro Betancourt and a $4.85 billion money laundering scheme centered on PDVSA, by arguing that Venezuelan courts had found no crime regarding the case.

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.