<!--/* //NOSONAR */--><!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<!--/* //NOSONAR */--><html  lang="en-US">
<head id="Head"><meta id="MetaDescription" name="DESCRIPTION" /><meta id="MetaKeywords" name="KEYWORDS" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1" /><title>
	Southcom Chief: Venezuela's Maduro at Center of 'Vicious Circle of Threats'
</title><link id="css3605" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/DesktopModules/ArticleCS/module.css" /><link id="css4619" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/desktopmodules/ArticleCS/styles/DOD2/style.css" /></head>
<body>
    <main>
    <div>
    <div class="aprint news">
    <div class="header">
        <img height="100" class="print-logo" alt="Site Logo" src="/Portals/7/Images/SOUTHCOM_logo_thumb.jpg?ver=SIvIeRRofyrg5ZHPpvvh6Q%3d%3d" />

        <h1 class="title">Southcom Chief: Venezuela's Maduro at Center of 'Vicious Circle of Threats'</h1>
    </div>
    
<div id="adetail-slick-gallery" class="gallery">
    
    <div class="item">
        
        
        
        <div class="video dvids-video">
            
            <div class="video-aspect-wrap">
                <div class="video-aspect-inner">
                    <video id='dvid4449517' 
                           class='dvidsPlayer' width='100%' height='100%' 
                           preload='none' controls='controls=' 
                           src='https://d34w7g4gy10iej.cloudfront.net/video/2008/DOD_107937880/DOD_107937880-1024x576-1769k.mp4' type='video/mp4' poster='https://d1ldvf68ux039x.cloudfront.net/thumbs/frames/video/2008/763226/720w_q95.jpg'>
                <track kind='subtitles' src='/desktopmodules/sharedlibrary/handlers/dvidscaption.ashx?PortalId=7&AssetId=video:763226&Format=srt' srclang='en'>
            </video>
                </div>
            </div>
            <script type="text/javascript">
                document.getElementById('dvid4449517').addEventListener('loadedmetadata', function () {
                    ANALYTICSLIBRARY.init(["763226", "66"]);
                    ANALYTICSLIBRARY.loadAnalyticsParam();

                }, false);
                document.getElementById('dvid4449517').addEventListener('play', function () {
                    ANALYTICSLIBRARY.init(["763226", "66"]);
                    ANALYTICSLIBRARY.playAnalyticsParam();

                }, false);
                document.getElementById('dvid4449517').addEventListener('ended', function () {
                    ANALYTICSLIBRARY.init(["763226", "66"]);
                    ANALYTICSLIBRARY.endAnalyticsParam();

                }, false);
            </script>
        </div>
        
        
        
        <div class="slide-info-hidden">
            <div class="slide-info-inner">
            
            <div class="image-title">Southcom Leader Speaks on Maduro Regime Activities</div>
            <div class="image-caption">Navy Adm. Craig S. Faller, commander of U.S. Southern
Command, speaks at the Atlantic Council about the global web of illicit activities by Venezuela’s Maduro regime, Aug. 13, 2020.</div>
        </div>
    </div>
    </div>

    
</div>
<div class="slide-info"></div>





    <div><b>By C. Todd Lopez</b> <span class="date">/ Published Aug. 13, 2020</span></div>
    <span class="dateline-text"></span>
    <p>Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, aided by allies including Cuba, Russia, China and Iran, continues to serve as a threat to the democratic freedom in neighboring nations in South America, the commander of U.S. Southern Command said.</p>

<p>"When we look at this region, there is so much promise and so much potential," Navy Adm. Craig S. Faller said during a panel discussion today with the Atlantic Council.</p>

<p>South America is home to a number of democracies that share values with the United States, and are rich in resources, including human intellectual capital, Faller said. "All that is under assault. It's under assault by a vicious circle of threats, the center of which is ... Venezuela," the admiral said.<br />
<br />
A big part of the threat, he said, is a drastic increase in narcotics trafficking coming out of Venezuela, which he said not only threatens lives throughout North and South America, but also corrupts the institutions critical to the maintenance and development of the young democracies that surround Venezuela.</p>

<p>"At the heart of the threat, it's the lives that are we're losing unnecessarily, and it's the undermining of democracy," Faller said. "That was a choice Maduro made to take the once thriving state into the current dictatorship that it is."</p>

<p>
<div class="ast-grid  breakout grid-1">
    
        
        <div class="row">
        
        
        <div class="item col-md-6" style="" data-order="1">
            <div class="body">
                


<!--image-->



<div class="media-inline media-inline-xlarge   " style="max-width:600px">
    
    
    
    <a href="#pop4449514" class="popup" data-width="1621" data-height="1080">
        <div class="image-wrapper">
            <div class="overlay"></div>
            <img src="https://media.defense.gov/2020/Aug/13/2002477189/600/400/0/200623-N-KK394-1048M.JPG" alt="A reflection is seen in a set of binoculars." class="img-responsive" />
        </div>
    </a>
    
    
    
        
        
    
</div>


<!--popup-->

<div style="display:none">
    
    <div class="media-inline-popup" id="pop4449514">
        <div class="media-inline-img-container"><img src="https://media.defense.gov/2020/Aug/13/2002477189/1920/1080/0/200623-N-KK394-1048M.JPG" alt="A reflection is seen in a set of binoculars." class="img-responsive" /></div>
        <div class="info">
            <span class="title">
                USS Detroit
            </span>
            <div class="caption" style="max-width:1621px">
                The littoral combat ship USS Detroit sails into Cartagena, Colombia for fuel, June 23, 2020. The ship is deployed to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility to support Joint Interagency Task Force South's mission, which includes countering illicit drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
            </div>

            <div class="bottom">

                <div class="social">
                    <span class="subhead">SHARE IMAGE:</span>
                    <div class="a2a_kit a2a_default_style social-inner" data-a2a-url="https://www.southcom.mil/MEDIA/IMAGERY/igphoto/2002477189/" data-a2a-title="USS Detroit" data-a2a-media="https://media.defense.gov/2020/Aug/13/2002477189/1920/1080/0/200623-N-KK394-1048M.JPG" data-page-url="https://www.southcom.mil/MEDIA/NEWS-ARTICLES/Article/2312950/southcom-chief-venezuelas-maduro-at-center-of-vicious-circle-of-threats/">
                        <a class="a2a_button_facebook social-link" aria-label="Share on Facebook">
                            <span class="fa fa-facebook"></span>
                        </a>
                        <a class="a2a_button_x social-link" aria-label="Share on X">
                            <span class="fa-brands fa-x-twitter"></span>
                        </a>
                        <a class="a2a_button_email social-link" aria-label="Share by emailing content">
                            <span class="fa fa-envelope"></span>
                        </a>
                    </div>
                    <script type="text/javascript" defer src="https://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"></script>
                </div>

                <div class="action">
                    <div class="action-item download-link">
                        <div style="background-image: url(/DesktopModules/ArticleCS/Images/media_download.png)" class="icon"></div>
                        <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2020/Aug/13/2002477189/-1/-1/0/200623-N-KK394-1048M.JPG" title="USS Detroit" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="action-frame article-link">
                            <span>Download Image</span>
                        </a>
                    </div>
                    <div class="action-item detail-link">
                        <div style="background-image: url(/DesktopModules/ArticleCS/Images/media_link.png)" class="icon"></div>
                        <a href="https://www.southcom.mil/MEDIA/IMAGERY/igphoto/2002477189/" title="USS Detroit" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="action-frame article-link">
                            <span>Image Details</span>
                        </a>
                    </div>
                    
                    <div class="action-item photographer">
                        <div style="background-image: url(/DesktopModules/ArticleCS/Images/media_photographer.png)" class="icon"></div>
                        <div class="action-item action-frame">
                            <span>Photo By: Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Anderson W. Branch</span>
                        </div>
                    </div>
                    
                    <div class="action-item virin">
                        <div style="background-image: url(/DesktopModules/ArticleCS/Images/media_info.png)" class="icon"></div>
                        <div class="action-item action-frame">
                            <span>VIRIN: 200623-N-KK394-1048M</span>
                        </div>
                    </div>
                </div>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
    
    
</div>













<style>
    #cboxClose {
        position: absolute;
        top: 5px;
        right: 5px;
        display: block;
        background: url(/desktopmodules/articlecs/images/media_popup_close.png) no-repeat top center;
        width: 40px;
        height: 40px;
        text-indent: -9999px;
    }

        #cboxClose:hover {
            background-position: bottom center;
        }

    .me-plugin {
        width: 100%;
        height: 100%;
    }
</style>
<script type="text/javascript">

    var gih = 0;
    var giw = 0;
    var pup;
    var g_isDynamic = false;

    function popupResize(ibox, w, h, doResize) {
        if ($(ibox).hasClass('dgov2popup-info')) {
            // This block is included once, so is shared by all media tokens.
            // this block is how we execute the special resize for dgov2's slideshow popup
            dgov2slideshowPopupResize(ibox, w, h, doResize);
            return;
        }

        if (!g_isDynamic)
            return;

        var isMobile = window.matchMedia('(max-width: 1200px)').matches;

        if (isMobile) {
            $.colorbox.resize({ width: "100%", height: "100%" });
            $(ibox).find(".img-responsive").width('100%');
            $(ibox).find(".img-responsive").height('auto');

            $(ibox).find(".info").css('height', 'auto');
            return;
        }

        var iw = w;
        var ih = h;
        var ww = $(window).width();
        var wh = $(window).height();
        var hextra = 40;
        var wextra = 360;
        var hborder = 120;
        var wborder = 120;
        var maxw = ww - wextra - wborder;
        var maxh = wh - hextra - hborder;
        var ratio = Math.min(maxw / iw, maxh / ih);

        iw = Math.floor(iw * ratio); // use floor to avoid overflow scrollbar
        ih = Math.floor(ih * ratio);

        //        console.log(iw + " " + ih + " --- " + (iw + wextra) + " " + (ih + hextra))

        $(ibox).find(".img-responsive").width(iw);
        $(ibox).find(".img-responsive").height(ih);

        $(ibox).find(".info").height(ih);

        if (doResize)
            $.colorbox.resize({ width: iw + wextra, height: ih + hextra });
    }

    $(window).resize(function () {
        if (g_isDynamic && pup !== undefined)
            popupResize(pup, giw, gih, true);
    });

    $(window).load(function () {
            $(".popup").click(function () {
                giw = $(this).data('width');
                gih = $(this).data('height');
                pup = $($(this).attr('href'));
                g_isDynamic = $(this).data('dynamic') === 1 ? true : false;

                popupResize(pup, giw, gih, false);

                var w = "768px";
                var isMobile = $(window).width() < 768 ? true : false;
                w = "auto";
                if (isMobile)
                    w = "100%";

                const isDgov2Slideshow = $(this).attr("data-isdgov2slideshow") != undefined;
                const isDGOV2 = false;
                const slideNumber = parseInt($(this).attr('data-slide-number'));
                const slideIndex = slideNumber - 1;
                //console.log("slideNumber for popup", slideNumber)
                const popupThis = this;
                $(this).colorbox({
                    className: 'inline-popup', fixed: true, transition: "none", opacity: .9, inline: true, width: w, height: 'auto', maxWidth:"80%", maxHeight:"100%", close: isDgov2Slideshow || isDGOV2 ? "<i class='fas fa-times' />" : "X", onClosed: function () {
                    },
                    onComplete: function () {
                        var popupHeight = jQuery(this.href.substring(this.href.lastIndexOf("#"))).outerHeight(true);
                        if (jQuery("#colorbox").height() < popupHeight) {
                            jQuery("#colorbox").height(popupHeight);
                        }
                        if (g_isDynamic) {
                            if (!isMobile) {
                                bodyScrollLock.disableBodyScroll(this);
                            }
                        }
                   
                        // for popup having data-isdgov2slideshow attr (see above)
                        if (isDgov2Slideshow) {
                            const popSelector = '#dgov2popup-target-2312950';
                            const ssSelector = '#dgov2slideshowId-2312950';
                            dgov2slideshowPopupInit({
                                numSlides: 0,
                            startingSlideIndex: slideIndex,
                                popupSelector: popSelector,
                                slideshowSelector: ssSelector,
                                slideshowMediaId: 2312950,
                        });
                giw = $(popupThis).data('width');
                gih = $(popupThis).data('height');
                pup = $($(popupThis).attr('href'));
                popupResize(pup, giw, gih, true);
            }
            $(window).resize();
        },
        onClosed: function () {
        pup = undefined;
        if (g_isDynamic)
            bodyScrollLock.enableBodyScroll(this);

        if (isDgov2Slideshow) {
            const popSelector = '#dgov2popup-target-2312950';
            const ssSelector = '#dgov2slideshowId-2312950';
            dgov2slideshowPopupDestroy({
                popupSelector: popSelector,
                slideshowSelector: ssSelector,
            });
        }
    }
    });

    });

    
    $(".popup-slideshow").colorbox({
        inline: true,
        onComplete: function () {
            SlideshowInit();
            $.colorbox.resize();
            // stop scrollbar from flashing
            $("#cboxLoadedContent").css("overflow", "");
            $("#cboxLoadedContent").css("overflow-y", "hidden");
        },
        onClosed: function () {
            $('.slideshow-gallery').trigger('slideTo', 0);
        }
    });
    
    });
</script>






            </div>
        </div>
        
        <div class="item col-md-6" style="" data-order="2">
            <div class="body">
                


<!--image-->



<div class="media-inline media-inline-xlarge   " style="max-width:600px">
    
    
    
    <a href="#pop4449513" class="popup" data-width="1620" data-height="1080">
        <div class="image-wrapper">
            <div class="overlay"></div>
            <img src="https://media.defense.gov/2020/Aug/13/2002477191/600/400/0/200623-N-KK394-1053M.JPG" alt="Sailors stand on the front deck of a ship." class="img-responsive" />
        </div>
    </a>
    
    
    
        
        
    
</div>


<!--popup-->

<div style="display:none">
    
    <div class="media-inline-popup" id="pop4449513">
        <div class="media-inline-img-container"><img src="https://media.defense.gov/2020/Aug/13/2002477191/1920/1080/0/200623-N-KK394-1053M.JPG" alt="Sailors stand on the front deck of a ship." class="img-responsive" /></div>
        <div class="info">
            <span class="title">
                USS Detroit
            </span>
            <div class="caption" style="max-width:1620px">
                The littoral combat ship USS Detroit sails into Cartagena, Colombia, for fuel, June 23, 2020. The ship is deployed to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility to support Joint Interagency Task Force South's mission, which includes countering illicit drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
            </div>

            <div class="bottom">

                <div class="social">
                    <span class="subhead">SHARE IMAGE:</span>
                    <div class="a2a_kit a2a_default_style social-inner" data-a2a-url="https://www.southcom.mil/MEDIA/IMAGERY/igphoto/2002477191/" data-a2a-title="USS Detroit" data-a2a-media="https://media.defense.gov/2020/Aug/13/2002477191/1920/1080/0/200623-N-KK394-1053M.JPG" data-page-url="https://www.southcom.mil/MEDIA/NEWS-ARTICLES/Article/2312950/southcom-chief-venezuelas-maduro-at-center-of-vicious-circle-of-threats/">
                        <a class="a2a_button_facebook social-link" aria-label="Share on Facebook">
                            <span class="fa fa-facebook"></span>
                        </a>
                        <a class="a2a_button_x social-link" aria-label="Share on X">
                            <span class="fa-brands fa-x-twitter"></span>
                        </a>
                        <a class="a2a_button_email social-link" aria-label="Share by emailing content">
                            <span class="fa fa-envelope"></span>
                        </a>
                    </div>
                    <script type="text/javascript" defer src="https://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"></script>
                </div>

                <div class="action">
                    <div class="action-item download-link">
                        <div style="background-image: url(/DesktopModules/ArticleCS/Images/media_download.png)" class="icon"></div>
                        <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2020/Aug/13/2002477191/-1/-1/0/200623-N-KK394-1053M.JPG" title="USS Detroit" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="action-frame article-link">
                            <span>Download Image</span>
                        </a>
                    </div>
                    <div class="action-item detail-link">
                        <div style="background-image: url(/DesktopModules/ArticleCS/Images/media_link.png)" class="icon"></div>
                        <a href="https://www.southcom.mil/MEDIA/IMAGERY/igphoto/2002477191/" title="USS Detroit" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="action-frame article-link">
                            <span>Image Details</span>
                        </a>
                    </div>
                    
                    <div class="action-item photographer">
                        <div style="background-image: url(/DesktopModules/ArticleCS/Images/media_photographer.png)" class="icon"></div>
                        <div class="action-item action-frame">
                            <span>Photo By: Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Anderson W. Branch</span>
                        </div>
                    </div>
                    
                    <div class="action-item virin">
                        <div style="background-image: url(/DesktopModules/ArticleCS/Images/media_info.png)" class="icon"></div>
                        <div class="action-item action-frame">
                            <span>VIRIN: 200623-N-KK394-1053M</span>
                        </div>
                    </div>
                </div>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
    
    
</div>


















            </div>
        </div>
        
    </div>
    
</div>

</p>

<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has allowed Maduro to even further lock down Venezuela and increase his power, Faller said. At the same time, he added, organizations such as FARC, and the National Liberation Army of Colombia are able to expand territory in the country.</p>

<p>"All those threat vectors are headed in a negative direction, which is a significant reason why we have upped the amount of engagement we're doing with our partners and launched our enhanced counternarcotics operation," Faller said.</p>

<p>One tool to fight narcotics trafficking, Faller said, includes Southcom's Joint Interagency Task Force South and Key West, which has the involvement of 22 partner nations behind its efforts.</p>

<p>"They're all aligned there under the common threat of narco trafficking," Faller said. "The connection to Maduro is his complicity in that threat. The nations that go there, they go there for their national interest, but working together for the good of the hemisphere. It's been a success. And we have actually seen an increase in partner nation involvement, year to year, last year to this year."</p>

<p>


<!--image-->



<div class="media-inline media-inline-xlarge   " style="max-width:600px">
    
    
    
    <a href="#pop4449515" class="popup" data-width="1620" data-height="1080">
        <div class="image-wrapper">
            <div class="overlay"></div>
            <img src="https://media.defense.gov/2020/Aug/13/2002477188/600/400/0/200623-N-KK394-1009M.JPG" alt="A sailor in a blue hard hat pulls a rope from inside a ship." class="img-responsive" />
        </div>
    </a>
    
    
    
        
        
    
</div>


<!--popup-->

<div style="display:none">
    
    <div class="media-inline-popup" id="pop4449515">
        <div class="media-inline-img-container"><img src="https://media.defense.gov/2020/Aug/13/2002477188/1920/1080/0/200623-N-KK394-1009M.JPG" alt="A sailor in a blue hard hat pulls a rope from inside a ship." class="img-responsive" /></div>
        <div class="info">
            <span class="title">
                Mooring Line
            </span>
            <div class="caption" style="max-width:1620px">
                Navy Seaman Tamai Bowry heaves out mooring line during a sea-and-anchor evolution on the forecastle of the littoral combat ship USS Detroit as the ship pulls into Cartagena, Colombia for fuel, June 23, 2020. The ship is deployed to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility to support Joint Interagency Task Force South's mission, which includes countering illicit drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
            </div>

            <div class="bottom">

                <div class="social">
                    <span class="subhead">SHARE IMAGE:</span>
                    <div class="a2a_kit a2a_default_style social-inner" data-a2a-url="https://www.southcom.mil/MEDIA/IMAGERY/igphoto/2002477188/" data-a2a-title="Mooring Line" data-a2a-media="https://media.defense.gov/2020/Aug/13/2002477188/1920/1080/0/200623-N-KK394-1009M.JPG" data-page-url="https://www.southcom.mil/MEDIA/NEWS-ARTICLES/Article/2312950/southcom-chief-venezuelas-maduro-at-center-of-vicious-circle-of-threats/">
                        <a class="a2a_button_facebook social-link" aria-label="Share on Facebook">
                            <span class="fa fa-facebook"></span>
                        </a>
                        <a class="a2a_button_x social-link" aria-label="Share on X">
                            <span class="fa-brands fa-x-twitter"></span>
                        </a>
                        <a class="a2a_button_email social-link" aria-label="Share by emailing content">
                            <span class="fa fa-envelope"></span>
                        </a>
                    </div>
                    <script type="text/javascript" defer src="https://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"></script>
                </div>

                <div class="action">
                    <div class="action-item download-link">
                        <div style="background-image: url(/DesktopModules/ArticleCS/Images/media_download.png)" class="icon"></div>
                        <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2020/Aug/13/2002477188/-1/-1/0/200623-N-KK394-1009M.JPG" title="Mooring Line" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="action-frame article-link">
                            <span>Download Image</span>
                        </a>
                    </div>
                    <div class="action-item detail-link">
                        <div style="background-image: url(/DesktopModules/ArticleCS/Images/media_link.png)" class="icon"></div>
                        <a href="https://www.southcom.mil/MEDIA/IMAGERY/igphoto/2002477188/" title="Mooring Line" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="action-frame article-link">
                            <span>Image Details</span>
                        </a>
                    </div>
                    
                    <div class="action-item photographer">
                        <div style="background-image: url(/DesktopModules/ArticleCS/Images/media_photographer.png)" class="icon"></div>
                        <div class="action-item action-frame">
                            <span>Photo By: Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Anderson W. Branch</span>
                        </div>
                    </div>
                    
                    <div class="action-item virin">
                        <div style="background-image: url(/DesktopModules/ArticleCS/Images/media_info.png)" class="icon"></div>
                        <div class="action-item action-frame">
                            <span>VIRIN: 200623-N-KK394-1009M</span>
                        </div>
                    </div>
                </div>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
    
    
</div>

















</p>

<p>Faller said that about half of Southcom's counternarcotics operations include the involvement of partner nations. He also cited as a success the U.S.-Colombian Action Plan, in which Colombians train partners across Central America to conduct operations against narcotics trafficking and terrorists. He also pointed out the Central America Regional Security Initiative and the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative as being important investments for the United States.</p>

<p>"The United States' time and financial resources will pay forward for enhanced stability," he said. "That's part of the solution set here, ... making sure we have it right in those investment areas to keep the democracies that have made progress in Central America and South America and the Caribbean [in] keep them moving forward against this vicious circle of threats."</p>
<br />
</div>

    </div>
    </main>
</body>
</html>