Easy to overlook in the flood of news about Venezuela was the announcement by Secretary of Defense (yes, Defense) Hegseth that he had issued a Letter of Censure to retired Navy captain and Senator Mark Kelly and referred him for further possible administrative action to reduce his retired rank and pay. These actions are taken, […]
History shows that authoritarian leaders often justify power through dominance—over institutions, rivals, and entire regions. Figures such as Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and Panama’s Manuel Noriega relied on a familiar playbook: centralizing authority, sidelining independent checks, suppressing dissent, and framing coercion as necessary for national security or sovereignty. I lived under the Noriega regime. That pattern […]