Lukashenko Is Just The Ringleader Of A Human Trafficking Cartel

• 3.01.2026, 21:53

Rubio's formula makes it possible to apply the U.S. Venezuelan experience in Belarus.

U.S. State Department head Marco Rubio has again published his July 27 tweet declaring that Nicolas Maduro is not the president of Venezuela and his regime is not a legitimate government. According to Rubio, Maduro heads the Cartel of the Suns, a drug cartel that has seized power in the country. He is accused of importing drugs into the United States, Rubio wrote.

As the NYT notes, Rubio's stance is likely intended to allay concerns, including from Republican lawmakers, about the legitimacy of striking Caracas and taking on Maduro.

Political scientist Ivan Preobrazhensky called attention to Marco Rubio's tweet in Telegram in the context of the illegitimate "power" of Putin and Lukashenko:

"The US has justified its aggression against Venezuela. They have nothing wrong with the legitimacy of their use of force. As U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the special operation, republished his old post, Americans did not officially consider Maduro to be the president of Venezuela. Power he had usurped, elections rigged. The legitimate claim to power, Maria Corina Machado, won the Nobel Peace Prize and was evacuated in another special operation from Venezuela.

Maduro, on the other hand, is simply the head of a drug cartel. Since the Venezuelan authorities refused to extradite him (he usurped power in the country), the legitimate option was to capture him for trial in the United States, which the American special forces did.

An interesting formula that allows this experience to be multiplied, including in the post-Soviet space. Let's say Lukashenko is the head of a human trafficking cartel, Putin is a child-stealing mafioso. An interesting roll call between Maduro's kidnapping and the fictional raid on Putin's residence, don't you think?"