Michael Paarlberg (@MPaarlberg) / X

Michael Paarlberg

15.5K posts

Michael Paarlberg

@MPaarlberg

Associate Professor of Political Science @VCU. Senior Fellow @CIPolicy. Assoc Fellow @IPS_DC. Fmr LatAm advisor @BernieSanders. 교포 mpaarlberg.bsky.social

RVA & DC

michaelpaarlberg.org

Joined September 2012

Pinned
Michael Paarlberg
@MPaarlberg
Jan 7
Despite Trump's professed willingness to put boots on the ground in Venezuela, he doesn't want an open-ended occupation required for an Iraq-style de-Baathification (de-chavistication?) of the Vz government. Thus the FANB has veto power in any future transition, I tell @BBCNews
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Michael Paarlberg
@MPaarlberg
Sep 29, 2025
I think the Trump admin assumed no one would try to find out who the people on the boats they blew up really were
julieturkewitz
@julieturkewitz
Sep 28, 2025
I was in Venezuela this week to document the response to a U.S. military buildup— the U.S. has bombed boats and Maduro says the real goal is regime change. What do Venezuelans say about possible U.S. military action in their country? Our article (free): nytimes.com/2025/09/28/wor…
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Michael Paarlberg
@MPaarlberg
Sep 2, 2025
Why didn’t we just track and interdict the vessel in US waters, arrest the crew and seize the drugs, as the US Coast Guard routinely does?
Marco Rubio
@marcorubio
Sep 2, 2025
As @potus just announced moments ago, today the U.S. military conducted a lethal strike in the southern Carribean against a drug vessel which had departed from Venezuela and was being operated by a designated narco-terrorist organization.
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Michael Paarlberg
@MPaarlberg
Nov 16, 2024
CNN engaging in a government propaganda tour, amplifying the Bukele government’s self promotion of its State of Exception without asking any of the following questions:
CNN
@CNN
Nov 14, 2024
CNN got rare, exclusive access inside El Salvador's Cecot prison, where some of the country's most notorious gang members are held. David Culver tours the controversial high-security facility with prison officials, capturing firsthand accounts from inmates cnn.it/4exgFEz
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Michael Paarlberg
@MPaarlberg
Aug 18, 2022
I teach an undergrad class on Latin American politics that incorporates films as a supplement to the readings. Since it's course prep time, I'll share the films I assign, by country, and links where currently available here:
Michael Paarlberg
@MPaarlberg
Nov 16, 2024
Replying to @MPaarlberg
1. What’s the rate of wrongful imprisonment? Human rights orgs say 30k/80k are innocent. A police inspector general suggests it’s as high as 70%. How fair are these trials that have a 90+% conviction rate, based on evidence like having tattoos or being accused by neighbors?
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Michael Paarlberg
@MPaarlberg
Jun 18, 2020
Replying to @MPaarlberg
On Guaidó, Trump said “he doesn’t have what it takes,” and called him “the Beto O’Rourke of Venezuela.”
Michael Paarlberg
@MPaarlberg
Nov 16, 2024
Replying to @MPaarlberg
2. If the murder rate is as down as the government says, why have disappearances gone up so sharply? What about the mass graves? What about the Guacamaya leaks of police emails indicating the government is hiding about 50% of the murders?
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Michael Paarlberg
@MPaarlberg
Nov 16, 2024
Replying to @MPaarlberg
3. If the government really is cracking down on the gangs, why has it protected top gang leaders? Why has it denied extradition requests from the US? Why did a government official personally escort an MS-13 leader out of the country and give him a gun?
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Michael Paarlberg
@MPaarlberg
Apr 20, 2025
Fun fact: there is such a significant Palestinian diaspora in El Salvador that Bukele is not even El Salvador’s first Palestinian president. There was a presidential election, in 2004, in which both candidates running were Palestinian.
No Cipotx Left Behind!
@NoCipotxLeft
Apr 20, 2025
Nayib Bukele's Palestinian identity and partnership with Israel. 2019. @ajplus
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Michael Paarlberg
@MPaarlberg
Nov 16, 2024
Replying to @MPaarlberg
4. If the government is serious about organized crime, why are so many members of Bukele’s cabinet linked to organized crime networks like the Texis Cartel or to the gangs themselves?
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Michael Paarlberg
@MPaarlberg
Apr 11, 2022
This is larger than any of the migrant caravans of Central Americans, who are often described as tidal waves, floods and tsunamis
Camilo Montoya-Galvez
@camiloreports
Apr 11, 2022
EXCLUSIVE — 10,000 Ukrainians have been processed by US border officials in the past 2 months, a growing and unprecedented number fueled by thousands of Ukrainians flying to Mexico to seek entry along the US border, per internal DHS data obtained by CBS. cbsnews.com/news/immigrati…
Michael Paarlberg
@MPaarlberg
Jun 6, 2024
NYT describes a legal right under US immigration law and the Geneva Refugee Convention as a “loophole”
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Michael Paarlberg
@MPaarlberg
Apr 16, 2025
The Bukele government didn’t let US Senator @ChrisVanHollen in to see their mega prison, but here’s someone they did let in: an influencer and youtuber behind such videos as “I spend a day with the fearless hyena men of Africa” who goes by Luisito Comunica
Óscar Martínez
@CronistaOscar
Apr 16, 2025
Al Cecot dejan entrar hasta a alegres youtubers a que vivan su “peligrosa aventura”, pero al senador estadounidense no lo dejaron ni llamar al migrante Ábrego. Es obvio que lo ningunearon. Para atenderlo designaron a una figura sin poder ni relevancia alguna: el vicepresidente.
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