Pirates of the Caribbeans in Venezuela, or the Renewed Face of the Far West

Flag of Venezuela

The year 2026 started with a bang! We were awakened in the wee hours of Saturday January 3rd with a thunderous slap across the face as we heard that the US military’s elite Delta forces had kidnapped the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, from the heart of Caracas, the capital, and flown them out of the country. The news left us stunned, as it felt out-of-this world. The blatant show of force displayed by the American military and president seemed uncalled for. Yes… it showed amazing precision, all done within a few hours, over the weekend so as not to perturb the financial markets too much.

El Commandante de la Revolucion, Hugo Chavez

The excuse given by the Americans to strangle Venezuela and abduct its president, i.e. that it is a narco-terrorist state is simply that, an excuse. It is no secret that Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, and it is also no secret that American governments from right to left (from Bush to Obama) have been trying to topple the Venezuelan government since Hugo Chavez gave their oil companies the boot and nationalized the country’s oil reserves. Venezuela sits atop an estimated 303 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, about 17 percent of the global total and more than Saudi Arabia, whose reserves stand at about 267 billion barrels. Moreover, Venezuela, as a member of the BRICS was planning to trade entirely in other currencies, which would have signaled the end of the dollar!

Libya, the Prey of the West
Libya, the Prey of the West

This show of force is nothing new, whether it is from the Americans or the Europeans… remember the joint NATO attacks on Libya in 2011 which destabilized the entire North and West regions of Africa and where we heard Hillary Clinton’s cackling after Colonel Gaddafi was killed; or the bombing of the Ivory Coast presidential palace in 2011 when the president and his wife were paraded in front of world cameras; or even the capture of Manuel Noriega of Panama by American forces which happened coincidentally (probably not) on January 3, 1990. It is good to note that, as admitted by HRC herself, Gaddafi was killed because he was about to launch the gold dinar, a currency that would have been adopted over all of Africa, thus providing an alternative to the FCFA in Francophone Africa, and eventually replacing the mighty dollar in trading. Thus, there are strong similarities between the fall of Gaddafi, and the abduction of Maduro: the end of the dollar as the mighty currency used by all to trade for oil.

The present kidnapping of president Maduro also makes us wonder how this could have been possible in just a few hours, without the presence of “The Cancer of Betrayal” our comrade Amilcar Cabral talked about. A Cancer of Betrayal which may have lingered in the heart of the Venezuelan security and state. After many years of embargo imposed on the country by the US and its cronies, money can sway many.

Far West Town

These actions highlight a few things. It is clear to ALL that the United Nations should either be dissolved or re-thought to serve ALL interests: it is an organization that only serves the West’s interests, the powerful North, against the South. In a statement, Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General said “Independently of the situation in Venezuela [Guterres has previously questioned the legitimacy of Maduro’s leadership – yet he never questioned our numerous leaders who were elected with numbers out of this world] , these developments constitute a dangerous precedent. The Secretary-General continues to emphasize the importance of full respect – by all – of international law, including the UN Charter.” It is also clear to ALL, that there is no international justice… that justice works only against those of the global south who serve the interests of their people. There is no such thing as “The International Community.” It is also clear that international diplomacy or the stick to beat the weak, has been exposed for all to see… There is no international law, no respect of territorial integrity, and definitely no political independence of states. We, Africans of the global South, already knew that we were not independent, but now, even the blind can see. We have entered the era of the Far West, where the strongest can claim justice for themselves, and use the MSM to fabricate lies and tarnish, and then abduct presidents of other places. There are so many bad presidents out there, but given that they are good puppets of the West, nothing happens to them.

There are quite a few articles on the events in Venezuela, including, The petrodollar at war, Petrodollar power play, Venezuela after Maduro, and US removal of Maduro has potential to reshape global oil market… and thousands of others out there.

The message to any sensible and respectful leader is clear: beware! and more importantly strengthen yourself… for no one can face a bully without protecting oneself. This is the era of the Far West, stay alert!

Foreign Access to Property Prohibited in Lesotho in 1859

King Moshoeshoe I of Basutoland

As I see the sale of African lands to multinationals for pennies, or in some cases loans for 20-30-50 years and even 100 years, or like in Kenya (and certainly many other places) for 999 years (Did You Know about the 999-year Lease granted to Europeans in Kenya ?), I cannot help but think of King Moshoeshoe I of Lesotho who, in 1859, prohibited the sale of Sotho land to foreigners. This was a big NO. No ancestral lands could be sold to foreigners. Our current African leaders should learn from our forefathers; they, like Moshoeshoe I of Lesotho, or Gungunyane: the Lion of Gaza or the Last African King of Mozambique, or Mirambo: the Black Napoleon of Tanzania, understood the importance of our lands!  The law below also gives a glimpse on the justice system as implemented in the Sotho kingdom under its first king. This is a historical document set in its time to be read with the protection of the integrity and protection of Sotho land in mind.

Below is the access to property law signed by King Moshoeshoe I in 1859 on his homeland of Lesotho. The original can be found in Les Africains, Tome 8, p. 254, ed. Jaguar. Translated to English by Dr. Y., Afrolegends.com

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Map of Lesotho

Access to property: prohibited for traders, “White or colored”, 1859 law

I, Moshoeshoe, for any trader, whoever he may be, already present in my country, and for anyone who might come to trade with the Basutos ; my word is this :

Trading with me and my tribe is a good thing, and I hope it will grow.

Any merchant who wants to open a shop must first obtain my permission. If he builds a house, I do not give him the right to sell it.

Moreover, I do not give him the freedom to plow fields, but only to cultivate a small vegetable garden.

The merchant who imagines that the place where he stays belongs to him, must abandon this idea, otherwise he will leave; for there is no place on my soil that belongs to the Whites, and I have never given a place to a White, whether verbally or in writing.

Furthermore, any merchant who comes here with a debt, or who contracts one while he is on my soil, whatever his debt may be, if he is brought to me, I will make an inquiry into him in our court of justice in order to be able to settle the matter ; and the debt will be repaid in the way the Basutos repay their debts. But the plaintiff must appear before me, and the debtor as well, so that justice may be done. […]

President Biden’s First Visit to Africa : The Lobito Atlantic Railway Project

Angola President João Lourenço welcomes U.S. President Joe Biden on the day of his arrival on Dec 4, 2024, at Catumbela Airport in Catumbela, Angola 

What could a president who has just pardoned his son from crimes during thanksgiving weekend when everybody was asleep, be doing in a lightning visit to Africa in the ending times of his term? It sounds fishy right? As we have learnt in the past, the transition times are the shady times of an administration. So what was President Biden doing in Angola at this time? Why wait until the end of his term for his first visit to Africa? Why was he not then at the re-opening ceremony of the Notre Dame Cathedral in France with all world leaders at the end of the week? We are told that this lightning first visit to Africa is to cement a deal that will benefit Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Zambia: the deal called the Lobito Atlantic Railway project.

A map of the Lobito Atlantic Railway project (Source: LobitoCorridor.org)

The Lobito Corridor is connected by a stretch of railway infrastructure snaking through mineral (70% of the world’s cobalt is found in the DRC) and oil-rich parts of Angola, the DRC, and Zambia (70% of the world’s copper). Many of these minerals are considered critical for the energy transition adding an additional layer of urgency (The New Scramble for Africa, The Geological Scandal that is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), DRC and Zambia Sign Over Cobalt and Copper Resources Rights to the United States?, When Einstein Wrote to the US President about Congo for its Uranium ). The Lobito project provides a faster access route to the mines in these parts of the world and a pathway to the Atlantic Ocean. The rail route was established in the early 1900s and thrived until the mid-1970s. During the dark days of Angola, in the civil war era, the Angolan parts of the railway were destroyed. From 2006 to 2015, the Lobito project was resurrected/rehabilitated by the Chinese government in the region, who spent over $2 billion rail-for-oil program, but JLo as João Lourenço, the president of Angola is known, has decided to change hands from the Chinese to the Americans and Europeans. In 2022, the Lobito Atlantic Railway concession, a 30-year concession (extendable an additional 20 years), was awarded to a consortium of Western companies.

Lobito Atlantic Railway (Source: Angola24horas.com)

This investment represents the first alternative from Washington DC to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. As President Biden said in 2023 during JLo’s visit to Washington, “This [the Lobito railway project] first-of-its kind project is the biggest US rail investment in Africa ever,” … “A partnership between Angola and America is more important and more impactful than ever.” President Hichilema of Zambia said, “This corridor is of vital importance to opening up our countries, to opening up our regions, the continent, and truly the global economy,… This project is a huge opportunity for investment, for trade.”

Many see the Lobito Atlantic Railway project more as a West (US/Europe) vs. East (China) war interest on the African continent; while some imagine a money laundering scheme (after all Africa is known for its opacity in accounting) in the last days of an outgoing administration. You, dear reader, what do you think this is?

For more information, please read the Lobito Corridor, US News, CNN, and the White House press release.