Coronavirus and a New U.S. Plan May Finally Topple Maduro
Venezuela’s strongman will have little choice but to accept exile if his army and Russia agree to Washington’s proposal.
Song of change.
Photographer: Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images
The Donald Trump administration on Tuesday announced a comprehensive plan to end Venezuela’s political chaos and bring relief to its 32 million citizens. The proposal is sensible, but temper the optimism with realism: America’s struggles with Venezuela long predate the current crisis.
When I headed U.S. Southern Command out of Miami about a decade ago, my biggest worry was Venezuela. The populist strongman Hugo Chavez seemed unstoppable, given the high global demand for oil and commensurate prices and revenue. He managed to create a leftist “pink tide” in Latin America, influencing countries such as Ecuador, Bolivia and Nicaragua with millions of dollars in aid. With the help of Cuba and Russia, he built significant political influence across the region including with Brazil and Argentina, and reaped rewards not only from oil but from dealing in narcotics. His inner circle grew rich, and deep corruption reigned in what was once a democratic nation. It was a rotten scheme, but I couldn’t see any way to crack it without a military operation — not something we wanted to do in a region that retains real and understandable antipathy toward American intervention.