Is Fredo Corleone Running Venezuela?

Imagine if The Godfather character, Don Vito Corleone, died and left his hapless son, Fredo, in charge of the family business. That is essentially what happened in Venezuela when the caudillo Hugo Chávez died last year and Nicolás Maduro took power. As a result, the inevitable economic collapse and raging internal power struggle in that nation will have very grave consequences for the stability and security of the Americas. Observers snickered last week when Maduro, on his way home from a visit to Beijing, canceled his appearance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York citing plots that he said were being hatched against him by me. As I have stated categorically in the past, Maduro’s accusation is untrue. So, why would this wannabe caudillo pass up his first chance to strut on the world stage as Hugo Chávez’s successor? Because his hold on power is threatened back home.