President Trump is exercising his “art of the deal” skills on the Venezuelan military, increasing pressure on them to disobey the illegitimate president, Maduro, and allow in the humanitarian aid supplies that have massed on their borders. He understands the larger context in which the corrupt Maduro loyalists love their lives: they and their families escape the hell-on-earth that socialism has created in Venezuela by looting the remaining wealth for themselves and establishing their families in the USA or Caribbean nations, where they can lives of comfort, freedom, and even affluence.

Upping the pressure as the negotiations (in this case for officers to defect from Maduro) is classic Trump. He got to be a billionaire for good reasons, however difficult it might be for Trump haters to realize.

In his magnificent speech in Miami on February 18, Trump warned the military officers that if they sided with Maduro and fired on their own citizens, they would not be allowed to escape Venezuela, and would have to face the consequences. But letting it be known in Miami, where many of their families live (and shop), makes the pressure more immediate, and involves their loved ones. The mental calculations of the Maduro loyalist officers now include sacrificing their loved ones for their incompetent and illegitimate boss.

“We will no longer tolerate that double standard,” a senior administration official said. “They face a situation where they and their families will have to go back to Venezuela… They will have to go back and live in the misery that they’re imposing.”

A senior administration official told a small group of reporters Friday that the administration has collected data on military leaders who have family that have left Venezuela. They are living in Miami, the Caribbean and across the hemisphere. According to the administration, they’re living lives of luxury while their countrymen suffer.

The Trump administration is threatening to deport the family members of Venezuelan military officials — including some who live in the Miami area — who don’t disobey the Maduro government and allow aid from the United States to enter Venezuela.

President Trump is exercising his “art of the deal” skills on the Venezuelan military, increasing pressure on them to disobey the illegitimate president, Maduro, and allow in the humanitarian aid supplies that have massed on their borders. He understands the larger context in which the corrupt Maduro loyalists love their lives: they and their families escape the hell-on-earth that socialism has created in Venezuela by looting the remaining wealth for themselves and establishing their families in the USA or Caribbean nations, where they can lives of comfort, freedom, and even affluence.

The Miami Herald reports:

The Trump administration is threatening to deport the family members of Venezuelan military officials — including some who live in the Miami area — who don’t disobey the Maduro government and allow aid from the United States to enter Venezuela. A senior administration official told a small group of reporters Friday that the administration has collected data on military leaders who have family that have left Venezuela. They are living in Miami, the Caribbean and across the hemisphere. According to the administration, they’re living lives of luxury while their countrymen suffer. “We will no longer tolerate that double standard,” a senior administration official said. “They face a situation where they and their families will have to go back to Venezuela… They will have to go back and live in the misery that they’re imposing.”

In his magnificent speech in Miami on February 18, Trump warned the military officers that if they sided with Maduro and fired on their own citizens, they would not be allowed to escape Venezuela, and would have to face the consequences. But letting it be known in Miami, where many of their families live (and shop), makes the pressure more immediate, and involves their loved ones. The mental calculations of the Maduro loyalist officers now include sacrificing their loved ones for their incompetent and illegitimate boss.

Paradise lost to the families of Maduro loyalists (photo credit)

Upping the pressure as the negotiations (in this case for officers to defect from Maduro) is classic Trump. He got to be a billionaire for good reasons, however difficult it might be for Trump haters to realize.