Is it possible that the militia story [about planning to kidnap the governor of Michigan] is another contrived, anti-Trump, smear job by elements within the FBI?

Current FBI Director Christopher Wray hardly engenders confidence as a strong leader bent on cleaning house and reforming a corrupt agency that attempted a soft coup against the presidency. Wray is all about damage control and institutional preservation. When it comes to honesty, Wray does not have a tough act to follow.

The FBI's reputation has been destroyed through blatant politicization. Here are the corrupt political police: Comey, McCabe, Strzok, Page, Clinesmith, Pientka, Brower, Baker, et al. That is a collection of various dirty cops, oath-breakers, coup-plotters, and persons "lacking candor" in FBI parlance.

Of course, the presumption of innocence is foundational to our system of justice. Comey's living legacy, and the permanent institutional stain on the FBI more generally, is that we cannot take the Bureau's claims as truthful. We used to give due credence to sworn Special Agents of the FBI. No more.

In August, [Colombia's] President Ivan Duque... claimed that the Nicolás Maduro regime in Venezuela is looking to acquire medium-to-long-range missiles from the Islamic Republic of Iran.

For two decades, Iran has built a covert procurement and acquisition network in Latin America through joint military projects with Venezuela. The network is seemingly aimed at acquiring prohibited parts, minerals, metals, and technology for Iran's strategic weapons programs, banned by the UN arms embargo... While gasoline is needed in Venezuela, the fuel shipments from Iran are likely an excuse to operationalize its once latent IRGC network in the country.

With the Bolivian election less than a week away... and on the same date as the expiration of the UN arms embargo -- October 18 -- there is a chance that Iran could restart its strategic cooperation with Bolivia if Morales' political party, the MAS, returns to power.

For casual observers, the ramped-up presence in Venezuela... will seem as if Iran's recent activities are a product of "maximum pressure" against Iran and Venezuela. To informed analysts, however, it is clear that Iran has gradually built up the IRGC's presence and capabilities in the region for almost 20 years -- while using commercial and energy contracts, military-industrial cooperation, high-technology transfers, and other Iranian niche industries to cover its tracks.

Come October 18, the Iran-Latin America problem may become more complex if any of the three situations -- lifting the UN arms embargo, a Morales-MAS electoral victory in Bolivia, or a missile transfer to Maduro in Venezuela -- comes to pass.