Obama Makes Maduro’s ‘Insolent Yankees’ a Tougher Sell

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s favorite tool to rally popular support has been a blunt one: Yanqui-bashing. That may lose its clout now that President Barack Obama has moved to restore diplomatic ties with Maduro’s principal ally, Cuba.

Like his mentor, the late Hugo Chavez, Maduro has whipped up support by alleging the U.S. is conspiring against Latin American sovereignty, and his Socialist government in particular, citing the embargo on Cuba as the primary example of Washington’s bullying tactics toward the region. With that embargo, which he calls a “blockade,” weakening, Maduro may find his talking points sounding antiquated.