The Fallout Continues From the Venezuelan Election.

On July 28^th, Venezuela had a contested general election. According to a report in The Washington Post, the Venezuelan election commission, which is government-backed, said Nicolas Maduro beat his opponent, the opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, by 7 points. However, independent polling and the government’s records, which it has yet to release, state that Gonzalez won twice the number of votes than Maduro. According to an AP report, numerous civil society leaders worldwide are concerned about the growing number of arrests resulting from the protests over the weekend. Knowing the history of Venezuela, this situation will take a while to resolve itself.

Fat Leonard Returns to the U.S. to Face Justice.

Today, as part of a prisoner exchange deal, Leonard Francis, better known as Fat Leonard, has been extradited to the U.S. from Venezuela to face justice. According to the Washington Post, Francis was returned to the U.S. along with ten other U.S. citizens who were imprisoned in Venezuela. While Francis had not committed any crimes in Venezuela, the Maduro government had detained him on the off chance a prison swap with the U.S. ever seemed feasible. According to a report by CNN, In exchange for Francis, the U.S. issued clemency to Alex Saab, a financier with close links to Maduro, who was wanted on money laundering charges by the U.S. government. It has been a long road, but finally, Francis will face U.S. justice and spend a long time in prison.