Versión Español
Spanish – A week ago, websites around the world began to report on the political steps of “Nicolasito,” the son of the tyrant Nicolás Maduro. It can be anticipated Nicolasito will be elected to the Chavista National Assembly in December through the usual phony elections that the regime organizes.
Various international media outlets presented him as “tropical Kim Jong-un,” an heir to the blood-soaked iron throne his father holds in Miraflores. The term used is correct for two reasons: Maduro Guerra is a criminal with a history, and he seems to be emerging as a tyrannical long-term presidential successor. It is, therefore, a mistake to treat him as a conventional politician.
Weak media impact
Nicolasito is fast becoming known as the “Coltan Tsar” because of his criminal links and his role as the main leader of the illegal gold mining of coltan in the Orinoco Mining Arc. His social media activity is noteworthy. On Instagram, where the illegitimate heir to the throne is most active, he has 47,000 followers. His profile shows him sharing a table with “illustrious” characters of Chavismo: Aristóbulo Isturiz, Tareck El Aissami, Rafael Lacava, Héctor Rodríguez, and other members of the regime, who have contributed to the systematic destruction of the country.
But the truth is that the reach of his message is weak, very poor, quite mediocre even. Some videos have a few thousand views; his photos have a few hundred likes, but that’s where his main and notorious shortfall lies. There are hardly any comments – for better or worse – and they are most likely bought likes or followers (bots). The situation is not much different on his Facebook profile; the impact is negligible. And on Twitter, he is more involved in retweeting than in starting debates or posting his own ideas. In short, Nicolasito has poor communication skills, and for someone who wants to go into politics, he is a total and resounding failure. Even Lacava beats him in this respect.
The videos that “Nicolasito” uploads and shows very proudly have zero sense of aesthetics and much less of the message. They have all the attributes of someone who aspires to be politically relevant: he proselytizes, conducts interviews to boost his image and that of Chavismo, endorses related ideological causes, and shows his appreciation for his leaders and political icons: the first one being his father, followed by the late Hugo Chávez, Vladimir Putin, Che Guevara, and Rafael Correa, to name a few. A revolutionary profile.
Likewise, it is irrelevant that “Nicolasito” is not a skillful speaker and that he has very little capacity to influence a given audience. In fact, these are two petty details for a guy who has the support of the official Chavista media, of the tyrant and, surely, of Havana.
On his social media, “Nicolasito” also sends constant messages to “the revolutionary people.” He addresses them with much predisposition and interest when the issue is centered on the elections that tyranny drives. “We are going for the vote that, at some point, maybe unhappy with the revolution, but we are going to conquer it,” Maduro Guerra said alongside Jorge Rodríguez.
Look at this Instagram post: “The “unity” and its nefarious G4 has been reduced to nothing. Official saboteurs are trying to boycott the right of the people to decide their own destiny, while others are trying to camouflage themselves to participate in the parliamentary elections. Democracy will win, no doubt about it.”
Maduro Guerra is preparing to celebrate his legislative seat in the new year, crafted to his liking. He is also enthusiastically showing his affinity for the regimes in Cuba and communist Russia and is determined to greet the forces of the regime. He knows that he needs to present himself with at least some charisma to come to power.
Is his arrival on the throne of blood feasible?
It is difficult to know if “Nicolasito” will indeed be an heir or a mere figurehead of the Chavista milieu. However, we can look at the key points: Maduro’s son is faithful and loyal to Cuba, there is not much to discuss about that; the figures of Chavismo can accept him as long as he is malleable; he already has criminal experience since he is one of the leaders of the illegal mining of the Mining Arc as far as blue gold is concerned. Moreover, his figure can still be slightly whitewashed because it is not yet completely stained as it is that of his genocidal progenitor.
But the truth is that these are mere speculations and rumors that arise from anonymous Chavista sources because of the new position of deputy that the son of the tyrant will have, according to ABC. In reality, it is very difficult to know if Maduro Guerra is being prepared to succeed his father or if he is being given a post on a mere whim, but one should not be surprised if it happens.
These speculations are fueled by the tyrant’s son’s baby steps in politics, which are short and amusing. They are eating away at the remains of Venezuela’s institutions in the best Chavista style.
Regarding coltan, this issue should not be ignored. Nicolasito is a beneficiary of the company Wall Marketing, a company that exploits illegal mining in Parguaza, in the municipality of Cedeño. According to several complaints, the company extracts coltan to sell it to Colombia, Brazil, and even Australia. The export of Venezuelan blue gold has already been verified. In 2018, more than five tons were seized in the port of Trieste in Italy.
The profile of the Maduro Guerra
The official profile of “Nicolasito” is that of a young constituent, thirty years old, who since 2013 was part of the Chavista administration and is currently a delegate to the Constituent Assembly. He is also the vice-president of Youth Formation of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). But in his CV should also include his criminal links to gold mining, as well as the fact that he likes big parties. In fact, even the pandemic could not prevent him from holding a big party to celebrate his thirtieth birthday. The security chiefs and agents of El Hatillo denounced this celebration, and they were later arrested by the DGCIM for daring to condemn the son of the tyrant, who was bothering the residents of the area.
Further, we can add the information revealed by El Mundo last week, to Maduro Guerra’s “interesting” resume. He serves as his father’s special envoy to the events of Kim Jong-un in North Korea, he loves giving orders to high military commands, and he is the main investigator of the Odebrecht case in Venezuela. It is a rather Dantesque move to put a member of Chavismo in charge of investigating one of the great corruption plots in Venezuelan history. Anything else to add to the curiosities of Maduro’s son? Yes, He is very close to Delcy Rodríguez, and his frontman is Santiago Morón. He is also sanctioned by the United States Treasury on charges of illicit enrichment, preventing the entry of humanitarian aid, and censorship.
The merits of “Nicolasito” are identical to those of his father, as are his actions so far. He is someone who has not been very outstanding in studies, who has done nothing of value in his life, but who has the virtue of being very close to the revolution. Nepotism gave him invented positions, put him in the media spotlight, gave him toys such as TV spots, and also served to make him a representative of one of the bloodiest tyrannies in Latin America. He steals from the nation by buying gold from the Bolivar state mafias that operate in the Orinoco Mining Arc and then resells it to the Central Bank of Venezuela. An illegal operation that carries a whole chain of corruption, violations, abuses, and massacres.
Maduro Guerra does not have the power of his father’s dimension nor the weight of other Chavista references. Nevertheless, he is already showing his authoritarian virtues by toying with censorship, repression, and persecution. One must make no mistake about “Nicolasito.” He is just another member of the criminal conglomerate and can stand beside Maduro, Diosdado, or Tareck El Aissami. The media should not treat him as a child who plays politics.
