Thread by @ACLatAm

Watch live: Countering the Maduro regime’s global web of illicit activities pscp.tv/w/cgPgWDFZTEVK…

.@ACLatAm founder @adriennearsht welcomes @Southcom Commander Admiral Craig Faller, who is leading the enhanced counter-narcotic operations focused on #Venezuela. #ACVenezuela

"When we look at this region, there is so much promise and so much potential. What we all share is a democratic neighborhood," said @Southcom Commander Admiral Craig Faller. "All that is under assault." #ACVenezuela

“At the heart of the threat are the lives we're losing unnecessarily and the undermining of democracy,” said @Southcom Commander Admiral Craig Faller. "All those threat vectors are the reason we launched an enhanced counter-narcotics operation." #ACVenezuela

“We have 22 partner nations aligned under the common threat of narco-trafficking. The connection to #Maduro is his complicity in that threat,” said @Southcom Commander Admiral Craig Faller. #ACVenezuela

“What keeps Maduro in power are the interests against human rights and against our common security,” said @Southcom Commander Admiral Craig Faller. "We're working to disrupt the center of gravity around #Maduro to check his stranglehold on the Venezuelan people." #ACVenezuela

“The illegitimate #Maduro regime survives by relying on classic autocratic tools. Nowhere is this more apparent than the regime's reliance on armed criminal groups,” said @StateCSO Assistant Secretary Denise Natali. #ACVenezuela

"These non-state armed groups have an active presence in the capital and throughout every state. We know they all receive some form of tactical support from the Maduro regime," said @StateCSO Assistant Secretary Denise Natali. "This complex landscape demands a nuanced response."

“Far from being able to rely on its more traditional allies like Russia, Cuba or China, the #Maduro regime is acting in a similar way toward Iran,” said @StateDept Dep Assistant Sec Carrie Filipetti. "The diplomatic space with his traditional allies is shrinking." #ACVenezuela

“There is a consortium of states that now embrace transnational crime as a legitimate tool of statecraft,” said report author @farah_douglas. "#PDVSA under Chávez was designed to launder money." #ACVenezuela

“For a long time, we treated Venezuela as if we were playing the same game on the same field, and we aren't,” said report author @farah_douglas. "These are criminal enterprises supporting a criminal regime." #ACVenezuela

“It's been a generation in building this network" of extensive criminal activities, said @Southcom Commander Admiral Craig Faller. "Evading sanctions is a natural extension of the type of tactics #Maduro has used to make money." #ACVenezuela

“The key to preventing sanctions evasion is in the financial realm,” said @Southcom Commander Admiral Craig Faller. #ACVenezuela

“A huge part of the resilience of the #Maduro regime is that we assumed he was trying to run a government. As it turns out, he wasn't trying to run a government; he was trying to provide largesse to people who could keep him in power.” -@StateDept's Carrie Filipetti #ACVenezuela

“European institutions are not part of the criminal network,” said report author @farah_douglas. However, #Maduro's cronies have "learned over time that Europe is not as willing to clamp down on issues that they don't consider part of their sphere of influence." #ACVenezuela

"Europe has to become more aware of the regional and global threat of the #Maduro regime's activities," said report author @farah_douglas. "Encouraging compliance with existing regulations and promoting awareness of the impact is critical." #ACVenezuela

“There's the banking aspect, and then there's the supply chain of illicit gold,” said @StateDept Deputy Assistant Secretary Carrie Filipetti. "When you look at the international response to blood diamonds, a global coordinated response is essential." #ACVenezuela

"It's not something that the United States can do alone, it's not something the Venezuelan people can do alone. We really need our European partners to step up to the plate and join us in this effort," said @StateDept Deputy Assistant Secretary Carrie Filipetti. #ACVenezuela

"These elections are fraudulent. That is clear now, and it has been clear for months," said @StateDept Deputy Assistant Secretary Carrie Filipetti. "You cannot have a partially free election. Either an election is free or it is not." #ACVenezuela

"The international community must remain united and ensure that there are actions and consequences for this behavior, because if there aren't, #Maduro will continue to act with impunity." -@StateDept's Carrie Filipetti on the upcoming fraudulent elections #ACVenezuela

“We continue to work with and encourage and enforce burden-sharing as we approach democratic stabilization in Venezuela,” said @StateCSO Assistant Secretary Denise Natali. #ACVenezuela

“I can't stress enough the urgency of the threat,” said @Southcom Commander Admiral Craig Faller. "A major action point for the US is making sure we have it right in key investment areas to encourage democracies making progress in the region." #ACVenezuela

“The Russian influence is front and center in keeping #Maduro in power,” said @Southcom Commander Admiral Craig Faller. "I watch with alarm what Russia is doing in Venezuela in terms of personnel and the spread of #disinformation." #ACVenezuela

“We recognize fully that Colombia is critical to this effort,” said @StateCSO Assistant Secretary Denise Natali, citing the importance of implementing the 2018 peace deal and working with partners to disrupt ELN and FARC dissidents. #ACVenezuela

“It is critically important to work with our partners on border security,” said @StateDept's Deputy Assistant Secretary Carrie Filipetti. "Illegal gold makes its way to Brazil or Colombia and is then exported as if it is Brazilian or Colombian gold." #ACVenezuela

"Blood gold is blood gold. It brings together trafficking, labor abuses, environmental degradation, and a range of human rights abuses," said report author @farah_douglas. #ACVenezuela