Cockburn stumbled into The Spectator’s New York office this morning afflicted with that annual January woe: the post-holiday blues. He was having a serious pout at his desk before he was chastened out of this gloom by his northern colleagues’ new neighbor: Nicolás Maduro.
No one had a worse Christmas season than the deposed Venezuelan presidente. First, he and his wife were woken in the middle of the night by American soldiers knocking on their door; then they were forced to move into the worst borough in New York: Brooklyn. But despite all this, Nick is holding onto a positive mental attitude.
Just look at this post-capture image:
Here we have a man on the verge of life in prison, and he still finds the inner strength to lift a Siskel and Ebert-certified two thumps up.
Later, while being marched forward in federal custody, he flashed the camera a peace sign and smile:
And when he was escorted into the Drug Enforcement Agency’s offices in New York, he cheerily wished the press and DEA agents chaperoning him, “Good night. Happy New Year!”
The positivity continued at his hearing Monday morning. After a helicopter ride from his new high-rise studio apartment with views of the New York’s upper bay, Maduro greeted the crowd with a wave. “You will pay on behalf of Venezuela,” one protester told him. “In the name of God, I will be free,” Maduro responded. Inside the courthouse, he told the judge, “I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still the president of my country.” Live your truth, caudillo!
Whether the thousands of innocent people killed by Maduro’s security forces would agree with the deposed president’s practice of self-compassion is another question. But one thing is certain: he’s got screen presence. His attitude will certainly win admirers among the chunk of this country’s electorate that revels in charisma and cojones.
Perhaps Maduro will even make a fan out of Donald Trump by the end of this – though Cockburn reads that it was a video of Maduro dancing that prompted Trump to greenlight the kidnapping. This hemisphere is only big enough for one smooth-dancing boomer president.
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