Outrage among columnists: they find cases as small as a foot of a nose

There is bewilderment, unease, and dismay among the press that most vehemently campaigned against dictator Nicolás Maduro. They have apparently obtained what they wanted, but if they expected Sheriff Trump to cheerfully hand over control of their hydrocarbon reserves—which they have defended to the point of exhaustion (Edmundo González, María Corina Machado)—they can forget that illusion. Editorials from media outlets such as ABC, The World either OK Daily They tiptoed around how the American president has flouted international law—and that of his own country—to seize Venezuela, since at least they got the photo of Maduro in handcuffs on his way to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn. Eduardo Inda takes the opportunity to spread fear among the PSOE, which he considers little more than an extension of Chavismo in Europe, with insightful analyses such as: "The million-dollar question is how many Lexatins are driving Sánchez, Zapatero, and Iglesias at this hour."

TheABCOf all the conservative media outlets, this one is the most daring in expressing reservations about Trump's plodding methods. But it also throws up its hands in outrage when it discovers that the US president is negotiating with Delcy Rodríguez, a member of the Chavista regime, to forge a path to a new era, having earned the credit for Maduro's capture and securing control of the oil industry. The newspaper writes: "There is no possible democratic transition by making a deal with them. This isn't pragmatism: it's whitewashing." I challenge the editorialist to think of an example of a transition, let's say from about fifty years ago, in which a deal was made with the pragmatists of a dying dictatorship, and their countless democratic abuses were forgiven. The newspaper also writes: "[This] usually ends up consolidating what it was intended to dismantle." Well, for once, I'll have to agree with them on this. Right, Santiago?