- Relying on doubtful interpretations and in breach of international law, the United States and some other countries have recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s new president. In response, President Nicolas Maduro has broken off diplomatic ties with Washington. All the while Venezuelan army chiefs have confirmed their loyalty to democratically elected President Maduro, who has denounced a “coup d’état in development” and received the support of Russia, China, Iran, Turkey, Bolivia, Mexico, and the United Nations Security Council.
- Recognizing the legitimate government there, these governments have helpfully ripped off the fig leaf that the Trump administration and other partners are using to justify their unlawful interference in Venezuela. The constitutional argument that Maduro isn’t really president is nothing more than a fig leaf for regime change. The US policy is, in practice, to seek regime change in Venezuela. They just won’t say so directly.
- The US pursues and promotes regime change in Venezuela because of its regime change addiction. That’s why the opposition has found a willing and important ally in the United States. However, the US government does not have the right to interfere in Venezuela’s internal political affairs. The long history of US meddling in Latin America is a shameful chapter that the UN should want to see closed, because the people in the country that “benefit” from regime change will pay the greatest price of all.
- The crisis has opened the door for the Trump administration to squeeze the vital flow of petrodollars to the Maduro government - which counts on oil for 95 percent of its export earnings. Trump plans another illegal and illegitimate move to send the proceeds from purchases of Venezuelan oil to foreign accounts that could be set up and controlled by Guaidó. Diverting oil funds to Guaidó could have a huge impact on the Venezuelan economy. Not that Trump cares.
- To many observers, the aggressive gambit by the Trump administration and partners will only make Venezuela’s predicament worse. In doing so, the US and partners have taken a highly visible and risky step that will be difficult to undo, with many unpleasant, unpredictable, and unforeseen consequences. The resulting crisis could morph into the worst humanitarian disaster and instability in memory, and inevitably spill across borders.
- The opposition’s strategy, conducted in coordination with Washington, is clearly for regime change, but it will not work. The Maduro administration continues to have the support and recognition of its people, and the roots of US support for liberal democracy in Venezuela turns out to be shallow. The Iraqis and the Libyans and the Yemenis and the Syrians and the Afghans know only too well: when the US invades, open-ended chaos and terrorism is much more likely to follow than stability - let alone democracy.
- Given the scale of US interference, Venezuela is likely to remain unstable for a long time. The immediate challenge for its citizens and their leaders, as well as for the international community, is to contain the impact of this American-instigated decline. For all the economic problems they have experienced, the Venezuelan people have never stopped supporting their government. Most of them are national and grass-roots affairs, but they show a people with the will to fight for themselves and determine their own fate.
Long story short, this new saga serves as further evidence that the foreign policy of President Trump is no longer unpredictable and his destructive actions in Venezuela are not shocking or surprising at all. Quite the opposite, his positions to recognize Guaidó and promote regime change in Caracas are all consistent with the United States' long-time known strategy as well as the worldview Trump has publicly espoused since his election. For the first time, it is possible to identify a singular Trump administration foreign policy. This policy consists of a preference for authoritarian regimes over democracies, a general disregard for human rights and the rule of law, and the promotion of unilateralism at the expense of world peace and stability.
Source: Fars News Agancy
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