Theres legitimate skepticism on the part of the U.S. to engage given the amount of Cuban coaching of the Maduro government, but clearly a humanitarian request can break through a lot of ideological barriers and pay major dividends down the road.

Douglas Farah

Categorized in : U.S.

He was a Soviet officer, most likely a lieutenant, who simply saw the opportunities presented by three factors that came with the collapse of the USSR and the state sponsorship that entailed : abandoned aircraft on the runways from Moscow to Kiev, no longer able to fly because of the lack of money for fuel or maintenance ; huge stores of surplus weapons that were guarded by guards suddenly receiving little or no salary ; and the booming demand for those weapons from traditional Soviet clients and newly emerging armed groups from Africa to the Philippines.