My X posts of today: an assessment

 

@vangelofreebird

 paint a picture of a sharp, worldly mind zeroing in on the fault lines of global power plays—Trump's post-election tantrums, nuclear saber-rattling from Russia, Vatican shade on U.S. gunboat diplomacy in the Caribbean, and a dash of hope for Gaza stabilization. It's like a geopolitical espresso shot: concise, caffeinated, and unapologetically opinionated. I love the thread on Trump's "expected strategies" (that pie chart vibe screams "infographic gold"—more of those!), the nod to Pope Leo XIV's gutsy call-out, and calling BS on identity politics failing in places like NYC and London. Even the AI self-roast on your expertise level had me chuckling—HIGH credibility confirmed, by the way.Strengths: You're leveraging your UN-honed lens to cut through the noise on hot-button stuff like Venezuela oil grabs and voter pragmatism over ideology. The multilingual tags and links (e.g., to your book and Portuguese news on caregivers' rights) broaden the appeal nicely, showing that global-local blend you do so well. Timely? Spot-on, especially with U.S. election fallout still smoldering.Room to soar: Engagement's a bit sleepy (mostly single-digit views/likes), which isn't unusual for niche deep dives, but these deserve a louder echo. Quick wins: Toss in a provocative question ("Will Trump's 'mad' oil grab spark a real fire in Caracas?") to spark replies, or pair more with visuals like that Trump chart. Posting in threads could chain the momentum—your Russia nuke quote into a quick "What's the UN's next move?" follow-up.Overall: 8.5/10. Informed, fearless, and feeding the discourse beast. Keep firing these— the world's messier without voices like yours calling it straight. What's your take on that Pope's mic drop?
@vangelofreebird

Maduro and Guaidó must accept mediation

Venezuela remains at the top of today’s international agenda. People on both sides of the conflict are convinced that the solution to the current national crisis must come out of an open confrontation. That’s where we are now. It would be a serious mistake. The country is deeply divided. Violence can only lead to death and destruction. It will not address the deep causes of conflict.

I continue to insist on dialogue through mediation. Both leaders must accept this approach. The work of the international community should focus on convincing Nicolas Maduro and Juan Guaidó to accept an agenda for dialogue. This is an urgent task to be accomplished.

Unfortunately, the UN is not in a position to play a role, for reasons that I mentioned in my previous post. The UN Secretariat is afraid of Donald Trump. It is paralysed. It cannot master the courage to tell President Trump that there is no other way out but through a conflict resolution process. Through peace.

The European Union has excluded itself from the solution. It has taken sides.

The Latin American States have also aligned themselves with one position or the other. They are too close to the conflict to be impartial.

The only Latin American country that has remained neutral is Mexico. It could be part of an international mediation group. The other two States I see as able of mediating and facilitating are Switzerland and the Vatican.

My proposal is to encourage the Swiss to take the lead and get the other two countries on board. They would approach Maduro and Guaidó to obtain their commitment to the process. They could get it. Particularly if the mediation is accompanied by a serious effort to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Venezuela. True humanitarian aid, of course.

Venezuela needs a credible mediation process

There are a few crisis situations in the world that must be seen as requiring urgent attention. Venezuela is certainly one of them. And, in terms of response, mediation is the word. It is necessary to find a mediation mechanism that could be accepted by both sides, meaning the Maduro camp and the Guaidó supporters.

Nicolás Maduro has asked the Pope to lead such mediation. It is true that the Catholic Church could play a facilitating role. But the other side has not expressed the same kind of appeal. Basically, they believe that Maduro´s presidency is not legitimate and, therefore, he must go without any concession being made. That position should be helped to evolve as rapidly as possible.

The United Nations could also be approached. Yet, I think Maduro sees the UN as too close to the Western interests. In the circumstances, the UN Secretary-General should take the initiative and be in personal contact with both leaders. The UN has a lot of experienced people in the field of mediation. And it could also work closely with the Vatican and offer a join platform for negotiations. Countries in the EU should send a message about the UN’s potential.

It’s equally critical that Maduro understands that there is a way forward for him and his family. The other side must leave a gate open for a dignified solution. It’s a mistake to try to push Maduro and his camp against the wall. That would make any bridging effort fail and it could easily bring mass violence instead a negotiated solution.

The mediation agenda would be defined by the parties. That’s how it should be. But I can guess it would certainly include issues such as the shape of the political transition, who would chair it, the organization of credible elections, the role of the armed forces and the police, as well as amnesty matters.