Senator Bernie Moreno changes his position on Maduro's regime: 'The reign of terror in Venezuela is about to end'

Republican Senator Bernie Moreno appears to have drastically changed his position vis-à-vis Nicolás Maduro's regime. During an official visit to Colombia, the Bogota-born lawmaker said the Venezuelan dictator's "reign of terror" "is about to end" and called him a criminal and drug trafficker who has destroyed Venezuela the most.

Moreno backed Washington's offensive against Chavismo, which includes a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro's capture and a seizure of assets valued at $700 million. According to him, the Venezuelan people can no longer tolerate living under a country run by a drug trafficker and a terrorist, and he anticipated that Maduro would not complete his term in office.

Visit marked by regional tension

Moreno traveled to Bogota to attend the funeral of Colombian politician Miguel Uribe Turbay, presidential pre-candidate, who was assassinated in June during a meeting with supporters. While in the capital, he gave an interview to "La W Radio," in which he addressed security and drug trafficking issues, warning that cocaine production in Colombia is at historic levels and that this crisis represents a shared problem for both countries.

"The Colombian Army and National Police are great allies of the United States," he said, highlighting their role in maintaining law and order, and assuring that Washington is "ready to help" if Bogota reinforces its fight against drug trafficking.

International operation against drug trafficking

His statements coincided with the announcement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio of the deployment of U.S. air and naval forces in the southern Caribbean Sea to confront drug cartels. Rubio warned that these criminal organizations operate with impunity in international waters, exporting "poison" to the United States, and reiterated that the Maduro regime is not a legitimate government, but a "criminal organization."

In the same vein, Moreno stated: “We have deployed Navy ships in the Caribbean and the lower Gulf of America. And what we have now is a very simple situation. We will not tolerate a narco-terrorist inflicting harm on the United States of America. We will treat terrorists the way the United States has treated them in the past. I do not see him in office beyond the end of this year.”

Moreno, a 57-year-old businessman and politician who emigrated to the United States at the age of five, has been a figure close to former President Donald Trump. After abandoning his candidacy for the Senate in 2022 at the request of the then-president, he now holds a seat in Ohio.