20200403: Cartel War 2.0 ~ Day 1

We’re throwing this subject open to the board, Group Project! If you have info, please post. If we’ve learned one thing at QTree, we know the contributors here work together exceptionally well, masterful at overturning obscure information.

Let’s connect the data point dots and see what we can find.

Data Point #1: Yesterday, at the White House Presser, General Milley took the podium and announced he was in possession of “certain intelligence” indicating the Drug Cartels intended to take advantage of the COVID problem in the USA and use the perceived weakness to create new markets in the USA.

General Milley didn’t like that idea too much.

Data Point #2: We remember March 26th, when Bill Barr, Attorney General of the USA “took out a hit”/offered 15 million USD on President Maduro of Venezuela, citing a litany of charges, indictments for 16 members of his staff for Narco-Terror, with a major investigation from SDNY, claiming Venezuela was a Narco State. Note: Among these charges, the leader of the Supreme Court of Venezuela was indicted for taking a bribe to nationalize an American company. Wow. It has to be connected. When was the last time we saw the DOJ working with the US Military in what amounts to a joint operation? I can’t think of one…. Project Cassandra?

Data Point #3: Tuesday, October 23, 2018, Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Latin America to meet with leaders about the Migrant Caravans, designed to make the President and Repubs look bad before the 2018 mid-term elections. What we did not expect was Pence’s revelation as to the cause of the caravans.

Pence on Tuesday said Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez told him the caravan “was organized by leftist groups in Honduras financed by Venezuela and sent north to challenge our sovereignty and challenge our border.”

https://news.yahoo.com/maduro-labels-pence-madman-venezuela-caravan-011109066.html

Data Point #4: We are all aware of the problem in Venezuela with Maduro, the Dictator who will not leave, and Juan Guido, elected by the representatives of the people as the chosen replacement until official elections can be held. We remember President Trump’s speech on Venezuela, at FIU in Florida, February 18, 2019. It was one of his best speeches of his Presidency.

Q Tree ran a live thread on the President’s speech found here: https://wqth.wordpress.com/2019/02/21/the-venezuela-speechtrump-doctrine-against-socialism-communism-transcript-and-reaction/

Data Point #5: We also remember Cuban military surrounds and protects Maduro and thus, has a stranglehold on the levers of power in Venezuela. Everyone know it. Just ask the Cubans, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans in Miami. The people in Miami rallied and waved flags, demanding “No more dictators in Nicaragua, Cuba, nor Venezuela“:

Data Point #6: We were all surprised when Pence told us Maduro was financing the caravans. I mean, where did Maduro get the money to spend on caravans and why wasn’t Maduro spending the money on his own people……. enter……. China. Maduro walked away with a 5BILLION dollar “loan” from the Chinese for joining the “Silk Road Initiative”

• September 17, 2018: Maduro was in Beijing for 4 days. Maduro secures 5 BillionUSD “loan” from China. Maduro and Xi sign 28 different bi-lateral agreements between the two countries. Maduro notes China has supported Venezuela since 1999. Hmmmm….. : https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14056

Data Point #7: April 1, 2019: Suddenly, high ranking Chinese military officials arrive in Venezuela with “humanitarian supplies”. https://www.fort-russ.com/2019/04/major-chinese-military-personnel-arrive-in-venezuela-with-humanitarian-supplies/

It was a spooky site. Friday, March 29th – China PLA personnel pose with members of Venezuela’s FANB

Data Point #8: But of course, the Russians were also in Venezuela.

• March 28, 2019: Putin tells Trump Russian troops will remain in Venezuela: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/russia-trump-venezuela-us-military-troops-latest-a8844546.html From President Trump: ““Russia has to get out. What’s your next question,” he said. Asked if that message had been delivered to Moscow, he replied: “They know. They know very well.”
• December 2018: And let’s not forget when Russia landed the bombers in Venezuela. Not good: “The pair of TU-160 supersonic bombers, known as “White Swans” by Russian pilots, landed at Maiquetia airport near Caracas on Monday after covering more than 6,200 miles. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent the fighter bombers in as a show of support for the South American country’s government in direct warning to Donald Trump’s America Russia’s Defence Ministry said the bombers were accompanied by two other Russian military planes, but did not say if the planes were carrying missiles, how long they would stay for, or what their mission was. The show of strength comes just days after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose left-wing administration is the most significant US foe in Latin America, held talks with Mr Putin in Moscow.” https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1057377/world-war-3-russia-US-russia-bombers-venezuela-putin-news

Data Point #9: Don’t forget the Iranians and their proxy, Hezbollah. They’re also active in Venezuela.

• February 9, 2019: From Mike Pompeo, US Sec of State: ““People don’t recognize that Hizballah has active cells – the Iranians are impacting the people of Venezuela and throughout South America,” Pompeo said in an interview with FOX Business, adding, “we have an obligation to take down that risk for America.” https://www.weeklyblitz.net/world/crisis-in-venezuela-and-iran-and-hizballahs-foothold-in-south-america/
• March 29, 2019: While leftist media outlets like Salon, talk about the “media’s struggle” with the Trump Administration (the Admin’s “cruelty”) and how they seek to defend leadership in Venezuela and Iran. https://www.salon.com/2020/03/29/media-struggles-to-justify-cruelty-to-iran-and-venezuela-amid-spreading-pandemic_partner/

Data Point #10: Plus, the Cubans, heavily embedded in Venezuela. We can see the strong influence of Cuba when Cuban special forces are surrounding President Maduro:

• February 7, 2018: Foreign Policy Magazine warns Cuba is making the Venezuela problem worse: https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/02/07/cuba-is-making-the-crisis-in-venezuela-worse/
• February 20, 2019: Proof positive of Cuban troops in Venezuela: https://panampost.com/josefina-blanco/2019/02/20/proof-of-extensive-cuban-military-presence-in-the-venezuelan-armed-forces/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=870d6a7e6337cc9a11b58ff54f49ade77b2a25e4-1585845154-0-AaOtU5YVRpJPRwnHUAIXQujy8JZG7uhvpibxI5A54onAJNM7w7PGVeZW3F6yvbTqlX6rU_RZOOTSCBObfh67XleFsMdb67RJk4-NwBSh9X6pCB_JYvVH-Jx1C-bojYqweVbCyu_rddDBCiVY0S6mh3V5RhJ86fA2phWJ5r2DOIILCUfejNbj0fpWCoFKKp0LW91MPCLweeQ3lUWHeCGa_WT4FMgd5Z-a87dJzJ13kHvLkCMEr3J96oeKLlRoc-qulgC7k8KiODvQK5DrSJAQCJqGnAI4Y6_joNK4MsjJcOpi8CGGPoWXnZqKRWBA4G4EB2ExeDOPKbtldtY0kZtLKbyLZYQfUZWoMMsXVRhIO5atccprcS4DHMoE0BE44Cwkp2KSMPkSgRbNReg-y72qBUxL1GNBFVb_Wk5WIybOvRk_kObVJAYOGPC_L6yRZtbR6puVMTvhEbhaso_UY–YF3M&cn-reloaded=1
• April 10, 2019: The NYTimes thinks Cuba has hijacked Venezuela: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/10/opinion/venezuela-julio-borges.html
• May 1, 2019: Cuban Diplomats insist there are no Cuban troops in Venezuela. https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2019-05-01/no-cuban-troops-in-venezuela-cuban-diplomat-tells-ap
• May 2, 2019: The Washington Post ponders, How Many Cuban Troops Are in Venezuela? USA says 20,000 but Cuba says ZERO. https://cc.bingj.com/cache.aspx?q=cubans+in+venezuela&d=4633428057327725&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=jrxuP0nzZUQ7CmQah-eU4w9YsEkYXzTT

Data Point #11: Thus, we have a Dictator in Maduro who will not leave and persecutes his own people in Venezuela. Maduro made friends with Cuba, Russia, Iran/Hezbollah, and China………. all of our enemies. Allowing these countries “into” the American hemisphere is explicitly against our stated foreign policy. Why are they here? Why were they allowed to remain? Why didn’t our past Presidents run the bad actors out of town…… from our own back yard?

As if having our enemies in the back yard wasn’t bad enough, now, it seems, they have joined forces with the Mexican Cartels, trying to create a new air route into Mexico (from the presser yesterday), according to Bill Barr and General Milley…… which presents a far greater problem to the USA and threatens our national security.

Data Point #12: The Mexican Cartels. Many books have been written on this subject and we’re all familiar with the violence and corruption of the cartels. Thanks to Dep, here is a handy map of their “turf” to keep as a reference.

Data Point #13: Remember when Obrador was elected President of Mexico and everyone thought he was a hard communist and would be no friend to the USA? And remember when Obrador was flexing his muscles and shouting insults at President Trump? Remember all that???? The fight was over illegal immigration. Until President Trump threatened a 5% tariff on all Mexican goods? And suddenly, everything changed?

• May 30, 2019: From the NYTimes: Mexico sent the United States $346.5 billion of goods last year — meaning that a 5 percent tariff on those products would amount to a tax increase of more than $17 billion. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/30/us/politics/trump-mexico-tariffs.html
• Everyone thought Trump was crazy. Repub Senators shrieked at the idea of tariffs on Mexico,………. but it worked. And almost overnight, we had 27K Mexican troops on the southern border and the caravans stopped.

Data Point #14: November 2019: Remember when the large family (9 USA citizens) was killed by cartels in northern Mexico and Trump offered to help President Obrador go to war with the cartels?

• November 6, 2019: Tom Cotton article in The Hill: https://thehill.com/policy/international/americas/469305-cotton-trump-could-have-us-forces-impose-world-of-hurt-on
• November 10, 2019: President Trump was ready to help Obrador get rid of the cartels but Obrador was rather unsure how that would work. Instead: Nov 10, 2019 · López Obrador, or Amlo as most call him, vowed to attack the social roots of crime, offering vocational training to more than 2.3 million disadvantaged young people https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/10/mexico-war-drug-cartels-us-help-trump

• November 27, 2019: (Not that long ago) President Trump toys with the idea of designating the Cartels as Terror Organizations. “U.S. President Donald Trump said he will designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorist groups for their role in trafficking narcotics and people, prompting a speedy request for talks by Mexico.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-mexico-cartels-idUSKBN1Y02NJ
• Guess it’s not just about drugs, eh? It’s about DRUGS AND PEOPLE.
• Conservative media figure Bill O’Reilly asked President Trump on Tuesday whether he was going to designate the cartels as terror groups and “start hitting them with drones”. The president said: “They will be designated… I have been working on that for the last 90 days. You know, designation is not that easy, you have to go through a process, and we are well into that process.” He added that he had told Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that the US was willing to launch operations against the cartels inside Mexico. “I’ve already offered him to let us go in and clean it out and he so far has rejected the offer but at some point something has to be done,” Mr Trump said.
• Yet, by December 6, 2019, President Trump backed down on the designation because Obrador “asked him not to”. Trump continued, ““All necessary work has been completed to declare Mexican Cartels terrorist organizations,” he confirmed on Friday. “Statutorily we are ready to do so.” https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/12/06/donald-trump-backs-down-on-plan-to-designate-mexican-cartels-terrorist/ Interesting note: U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr met with Obrador on Thursday to discuss the president’s proposal, which the Mexican president criticized as “interventionism” and a “flagrant violation of our sovereignty.” Obrador also cited President Obama’s failed gunrunning operation “Fast and Furious” as an example of how the United States only made violence worse in Mexico.

Yes indeed………….

How incredibly interesting that AG Bill Barr, President Obrador, and President Trump have been in discussions for MONTHS, and statutorily, the USA is/was ready to go, designate the Cartels as Terrorists, go after their finances, track them, ready the military, etc. And here’s the key point according to the Breitbart article above, President Trump told Brietbart he was thinking about it as far back as last March. “In March, Trump told Breitbart News that he was thinking “very seriously” about the idea.” ~~~~~~ Well, according to General Milley in the WH presser yesterday, our Naval ships left port in Norfolk and are already in the Caribbean. That doesn’t happen overnight.

Data Point #15: Let’s not forget Columbia is also part of the problem, and specifically mentioned yesterday.

• Or that Pence and our officials spent a LOT of time in Columbia trying to get aid to the Venezuelan people.
• Or that Columbian President Duque showed up at the White House, “suddenly”.

Data Point #16: President Duque meets President Trump in the White House on March 2nd a month ago and in the middle of COVID. According to the transcript, President Trump said, “This was scheduled very quickly, over the weekend, and we look forward to meeting. We’re going to have representatives on both sides. Many things to talk about.” https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/03/02/president-trump-meets-with-president-duque-of-columbia-video-and-transcript/

Which brings us all to the White House presser yesterday. Gee, that’s a lot of power standing together. Full muscle of the American people.

• President Donald Trump made the announcement saying, “Today the United States is launching enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western hemisphere to protect the American people from the deadly scourge of illegal narcotics. We must not let the drug cartels exploit the pandemic to threaten American lives.” The Commander-in-Chief said the U.S. military will double its assets in the Caribbean and as it works with twenty-two partner nations in an offensive against “malign actors” who would take advantage of the emergency situation.
• Mark Esper, Secretary of Defense, “At a time when the Nation and the Department of Defense are focused on protecting the American people from the spread of the coronavirus, we also remain vigilant to the many other threats our country faces. Today, at the President’s direction, the Dept. of Defense, at close cooperation with our inter-agency partners, began enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.”
• General Mike Milley, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, issued a stern warning to America’s potential adversaries saying, “We’re at war with COVID-19. We’re at war with terrorists. We are at war with the drug cartels as well. But this is the United States military, you will not penetrate this country, you will not get past Jump Street, … We will marshall whatever assets are required to prevent your entrance into this country.”
• AG Bill Barr: “One of our highest priorities must remain destroying the Mexican Cartels….. kills in excess of 70,000 Americans per year…… destroys lives…. drains our national treasure” and then Bill Barr said, “We’re not interested in half-measures. This is not just a law enforcement issue, it’s also a National Security issue.” Turning to the President, Bill Barr said, “Building on your success and cooperation with President Obrador, I went down to meet………” and “We’ve had some successful visits” (note the plural “visits”.
• Yeah, this is big. Here is the full presser. The beginning is the announcement and details on the Cartel War.

All thoughts and comments are welcome. Can’t wait to see what you guys come up with.

Let’s connect the dots.