News - Michel Baljet

America's military escalation in the Caribbean: the Venezuela crisis

September 8, 2025

The United States dramatically increased its military presence in the Caribbean this August and September, with Venezuela as its primary target. This buildup represents the most significant U.S. military operation in the region in decades and marks a clear shift from diplomatic to military means in the conflict with Nicolás Maduro's regime.

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Carlos Lehder Released: Medellín Cartel Co-Founder Walks Free in Colombia

March 31, 2025

Carlos Lehder Rivas, a founder of the notorious Medellín cartel, has been released from custody in Colombia following a court ruling that his previous drug trafficking conviction had expired. The decision, made by Judge Martha Yaneth Delgado, has reignited discussion in the Colombian legal system about justice for former cartel leaders. Lehder, now 75 years old, was arrested in late March 2025 upon arrival at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá. The arrest was based on a 1995 conviction for illegal possession of firearms. However, Judge Delgado ruled that these charges were no longer valid due to the statute of limitations. "Considering the aforementioned arrest report and taking into account that on the date set, the statute of limitations of the sentence imposed on convicted Carlos Enrique Lehder Rivas expired, his arrest is not legalized," Judge Delgado stated in her ruling. This latest development concludes a tumultuous journey for Lehder, who revolutionized cocaine smuggling in the 1980s by using air transportation and establishing Norman's Cay in the Bahamas as a crucial transshipment point. After his extradition to the United States in 1987, Lehder spent more than 30 years in U.S. prisons before being released in 2020 for health reasons

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Bukele's prison strategy expands: El Salvador takes in criminals from U.S.

March 16, 2025

El Salvador, under President Nayib Bukele, has deployed a strict strategy against criminal gangs such as MS-13 and Barrio 18. This approach, known as the "Territorial Control Plan," was strengthened after an outbreak of violence claimed 87 lives in March 2022. The government declared a state of emergency, leading to mass arrests of suspected gang members and the suspension of certain fundamental rights. A key element of this policy was the construction of the Center for the Control of Terrorism (CECOT), a large-scale prison that opened in January 2023 with space for 40,000 inmates. This institution was built to relieve overcrowded prisons and accommodate the thousands of individuals detained during anti-gang operations. In a special twist, the U.S. and El Salvador have reached an agreement whereby El Salvador will accept prisoners from the Americas, including U.S. citizens and legal resident aliens convicted of serious crimes. These prisoners will be housed in facilities such as CECOT. The agreement was officially announced following a conversation between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Bukele. According to Bukele, this arrangement contributes to the sustainability of the Salvadoran prison system. On March 16, 2025, the first group of more than 250 alleged gang members arrived in El Salvador, mostly from the Venezuelan

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Haiti on the brink: Gangs, violence and hope for change

June 8, 2024

The assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 has exacerbated Haiti's constitutional crisis. The parliament is no longer functioning and the judicial system is facing enormous problems. Late last month, the transitional council elected Garry Conille as the new prime minister; he arrived in Haiti this weekend. Will Conille be able to restore order and end the chaos gripping the country?

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An ordinary day in a bankrupt Venezuela

August 2, 2017

Our fixer Cheo runs back and forth to the gate of the prison while Joris and I sit just down the street waiting anxiously on the hood of our car. A daily market is developing on the street outside the prison; it is a coming and going of visitors and vendors at the gate of Venezuela's most notorious prison. Yesterday, when we visited the prison, not everything went as planned. It was not the first time we visited the Tocoron prison. While we were convinced that everyone was properly bribed before entering the prison, all of our equipment was confiscated by the national guards guarding the outside of the prison. When we left the prison, we did not get our equipment back. Later that night, after some conversations between our fixer and some of the prisoners, we were told that the inmates' boss had taken our gear from the Guardia National and that we could get it back at the prison gate. Tocoron, a prison for 750 prisoners was built in 1982. Today it holds 7,500 prisoners. Guards and government personnel are not welcome in this prison run by prisoners.

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In Calais, the refugee never left

May 21, 2017

Looking out over the now empty, weed-covered site, it is hard to imagine that just over half a year ago nearly 10,000 people lived here. I returned to Calais to see what has changed since the evacuation of the Jungle, the illegal refugee camp next to the tunnel to England. Standing on the hill, overlooking the former camp, I imagine what it was like at the end of October last year. The camp was burning in several places. Dark clouds of smoke filled the air. Several refugees packed up their last belongings, while the massed police swept the grounds. With bulldozers ready to raze their homes to the ground, the 8,500 refugees were herded like a herd of animals to a large chilly shed temporarily set up as a sorting center. They are then taken away in buses to be placed in various cities scattered across France. Saying goodbye to their dream "England. Today, as if the camp did not exist, nothing is visible anymore. How will the former residents fare? We don't have to wait long for the answer. Less than three blocks away, in an open field between

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MH17, my story

January 10, 2017

In recent days, there has been a lot of buzz around my decision to bring remains of MH17 back to the Netherlands. This is my side of the story. On Sunday, December 25, I left (together with Stefan Beck) for Donetsk via Warsaw, Moscow and Rostov. The purpose of the trip was (among other things) to research the daily life and developments of DNR in eastern Ukraine since the war began in 2014. Many stories are going around about what is going on there, and many of them contradict each other. We spent a total of two months preparing and taking into account all possible scenarios including security. Why via Russia. It was finally decided to travel to the DNR via Russia. Another, in some people's eyes more logical, route would have been to do it via Ukraine. There has been a war going on in eastern Ukraine since 2014. There is no country that currently recognizes DNR. My goal of the trip was not just to find out what is happening on the front lines, but rather to see how the daily lives of the

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A glimmer of hope within the gates of hell

October 17, 2016

How a boy of 27 manages to bring hope to a place where people are losing their dreams for the future.

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Visiting a refugee shelter where no one wants to stay

October 12, 2016

A severe shortage of medicine, a neglected building. I visited a run-down refugee shelter in Sofia, Bulgaria, where 800 people are hopelessly counting their days.

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Venezuela braces for judgment day

August 31, 2016

Tomorrow the opposition in Venezuela has announced a large demonstration in Caracas. It is demanding a referendum to depose current President Maduro. As the opposition prepares for the demonstration, Maduro is bracing himself. Military checkpoints are being thrown up, "phone jammers" can be found throughout the city, activists are being arrested, and on state television the president's supporters are calling for the streets to be defended. My sources expect a battlefield. Ok, 100% wage increase Venezuela is in a political and economic crisis. As inflation mounts, supermarket shelves are emptying. Food is scarce and hospitals are being closed due to a shortage of medical supplies. In vain, President Maduro is trying to control the situation with emergency solutions. For example, starting tomorrow, the minimum wage has been raised by 100%, and supermarkets in outlying areas are being spontaneously given one-time supplies in the run-up to the demonstrations. According to Dutch entrepreneur Frank, who lives in Venezuela, it doesn't help anything. 'I pay my people well, but the extreme increases in prices mean they can just buy a pack of sugar at the end of the day, if there is any sugar in stock.' Frank watches tomorrow's mass demonstration with concern. 'If it doesn't get out of hand tomorrow, then

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