I could hardly believe it when I saw the picture! Nicolás Maduro and Ravi Shankar, both smiling and shaking hands?! A humanitarian and spiritual leader next to a ruthless dictator who persecutes, imprisons and tortures opponents?  Maduro, a pathetical, clownish character who has forced thousands of Venezuelans to leave their homeland, fleeing from starvation, illnesses, unemployment and violence? Maduro, who thinks the late Chávez, his former boss, whispers in his ear, reincarnated as a bird? This “mise-èn scene” is plainly preposterous. Oil and water, that’s what they are. I wonder how much Maduro will pay the renowned guru for his services as a mediator. Or is it free of charge? “Cosas veredes, Sancho”, Cervantes would say. Sigh.

Published on Buenos Aires Times