X-Ray of the Lie Against Nicolás Maduro

Global public opinion is now witnessing the opening stages of the collapse of the falsehood that served as justification for the Donald Trump administration to kidnap—under the guise of an arrest—the constitutional president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro.

The saying “A lie has short legs” applies here, and it is clearly not in the interest of the United States judicial system for the defense team to be the one to dismantle the banner of “The Cartel of the Suns”, or rather, the dark façade brandished by the Trump–Rubio duo.

Four or five elements are sufficient at first glance to clarify the path followed by the self-proclaimed “world police.” The first is its long history of overthrowing governments that do not align with its economic or geopolitical interests, or that allegedly “threaten” its national security.

Another factor is the skill, experience, and availability of resources—understood in the broadest sense of the word—to construct lies, establish them as truths in the popular imagination, and even mobilize large segments of the population in pursuit of its objectives.

In this regard, it is notable how the media system, built upon digital platforms and now increasingly reliant on artificial intelligence, manages to turn a war or a kidnapping—as in this case—into a “consumable” spectacle for its audiences.

Turning to the issue at hand, other cracks in the narrative become evident, such as ignoring the primary routes through which drugs travel northward, as well as the countries that rank highest in the production and export of narcotics—products that undoubtedly find a guaranteed market in the United States.

On these matters, an article published yesterday in The New York Times made this clear when it reported that “The National Drug Threat Assessment, produced annually by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and detailing the main trafficking organizations, has never mentioned the Cartel of the Suns.”

It further added that “Nor has the World Drug Report, published annually by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.” In other words, the architects of the narrative failed to maintain the dramaturgy of the story, rendering the staging largely implausible.

As if that were not enough, the U.S. Department of Justice itself “got ahead of the curve,” as Cubans say, when it recently abandoned the narrative surrounding the alleged existence of the so-called Cartel of the Suns, having been unable to prove it, because quite simply, it “was a figure of speech,” as stated in various publications.

In this regard, the same article—“U.S. Softens Its Accusation Against Maduro and Questions the Existence of the ‘Cartel of the Suns’”—notes that “While the previous indictment referred to the Cartel of the Suns 32 times and described Maduro as its leader, the new indictment mentions it only twice…”

Although the lie persists, the amendment or revision of the indictment also serves to transform the accusers from suspected liars into confirmed swindlers. Social pressure within Venezuela and around the world is demanding, at the very least, logic or common sense—something entirely beyond the reach of this fabricated narrative.