MONICA SHOWALTER: Murderous communists? Who knew? Take a look at what they are doing in Venezuela.

There’s another reality about the place, and it’s not getting the attention, say, Saudi Arabia or Russia is, over the killings of dissidents. The Maduro regime is showing an alarming willingness to violently attack opposition leaders, and it’s moving in on high-profile ones who had previously seemed untouchable. They’ve already jailed politician Leopoldo Lopez and driven many others into exile. But the regime’s people have stepped up the thuggery to higher levels since then. They tortured to death a city councilman who was then flung off a ten-story building earlier this month. And they encircled and beat up leading opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, likely signaling intent to kill.

Maduro’s abuses aren’t getting the same attention Khashoggi’s murder has because they can’t be used to embarrass the right people.