Economic sanctions, which have long been at the core of international relations, are not always conducive to intended effects
If one were to be a student, assiduous or not, and within a historical context, of economic sanctions, the person studying this particular subject of interest would first have to transport himself or herself to ancient Greece, particularly the year 432 BC, or the time of the first documented economic sanctions, and all in an effort to achieve political ends.
What else, then President Taft, after concluded that Nicaragua was not sufficiently submissive to U.S. foreign policy in the region, alternately the 1823 Monroe Doctrine, a principle of US policy, originated by President James Monroe in 1823, that any intervention by external powers in the politics of the Americas is a potentially hostile act against the U.S., in 1912 invaded the central American nation. This, the military intervention, was after the same small Spanish language speaking nation was first subject to a series of economic sanctions that failed to attain their ultimate objectives, primarily preventing then Nicaragua's president, José Santos Zelaya, from revoking commercial concessions granted to American companies.
Someone please name ONE place on Earth where Americans (in power) have gone and have left a nation of people in peace and not in bloody shambles.
Please name ONE place where these same Americans (in power) have gone and NOT brought bloodshed, death and destruction.
What experience do these Americans have in bringing peace? Iraq? Vietnam? Panama? Korea (North and South)? Libya? Congo? Syria? El Salvador? Nicaragua?
Venezuelans are being primed to kill each other by the Greatest Purveyors of Violence on this Earth and they cannot even stop cocaine from the streets of DC.
It's funny the way the US is aggressively meddling in Venezuela's crisis of an obviously rigged elections - even to the point of talking sanctions & giving state money to Maduro's opponent. Meanwhile, Trump lifted sanctions on Putin's oligarch Oleg Derapaska, making him 800 million dollars, despite the fact that Putin's election was every bit as rigged as Maduro's. Putin's popular opponent was even jailed on trumped (pun intended) up charges to make him ineligible to run against Putin. In Turkey, Trump is supporting Erdogan, despite a rigged election every bit as bad as Maduro's & even agreeing to remove US troops from Syria at Erdogan's request so that Turkey can move into Syria & massacre the Syrian Kurds, America's primary allies against ISIS. In the Phillipines, Trump lauds Duterte, a dictator put into office by a rigged election, who sanctions the extra-judicial murders of thousands of people, including children, claiming he is fighting drugs. Duterte has even said in a televised interview that he, himself, has shot people. In North Korea, despite the unanimous agreement by America's top intelligence community that Kim Jong-un has increased his nuclear weapons production & is working on biological weapons, Trump praises Kim, perhaps the most brutal dictator in the world, & claims falsely that he is no longer a threat. All over the world, Trump picks a large number of dictators to befriend & a couple to go after (Venezuela & Iran). It seems Trump is suspiciously selective
I think that Pence's actions in reassuring the opposition of support was premature, but we should remember that, for once, the US isn't acting alone. Many other countries, including Canada and Australia, are recognizing Guaido as the leader of the government.
Dear Mr Pence,
I am so pleased to be sending my email to your secret address, thanks to a russian friend.
I think you will make a great president.
Now, I am a Nigerian prince and can make you a lot of money. All you have to do is..........
1
I assume handing financial control of Venuzuelan assets to an unelected person is permitted within American law???
In which case why?
Who gets a handling fee for arranging it?
trump, kushner, pompeo, bolton?
Whats the going rate?
Who elses money are you sat on?
I need to know because I am going to righteously claim to control whichever country it is. Id easy give them up to fifty percent in unmarked bills.
Its not like Im Chinese or anything.
At last a deal I could cut with trump.
Winning...
@Richard Bradley
Every nation, including the UK, has to decide who is the legitimate government of a country. It may be that a coup takes down an elected government, but practicality demands that the new government be recognized because it is in control of the country. At some point, your government will have to decide whether the Maduro government or the Guaido government controls Venezuelan government assets in the UK, who has the right to appoint an ambassador to the UK and so forth.
Rule of Law a la Washington?
Venezuela must be controlled by the indigenous people.
Elliott Abrams. That sums up our foreign policy. At least in Central America. The man's a war criminal. And he's running around free.
Bolton, another one. And the Big Enchilada with the orange hair? The last two are clowns - but the first? The real deal - a first rate thug. And that's what makes the second two not so funny; they enable the him.
2
I don't recall the US government getting very upset when right-wing dictators in Chile, Argentina, Brazil were disappearing thousands of their citizens who wound up in mass graves or were thrown into the ocean.
In Central America, not only did our government ignore the right wing death squads but actively armed them. We didn't pull back too much until they murdered an archbishop and numerous other clergy.
2
This is a slippery slope.
Does it (US Govt uniliaterally specifying who has control over the assets of a foreign government) set a precedent OR has it been done in recent decades ? It may well be so that Guaido is Venezuela's popular choice but this action seems precipitate.
4
@Hemant K Chitale - the US siezed $400 million in US-based Iranian money when the Shah was overthrown by Ayatollah Khoumeni. In the recent nuclear agreement, the US agreed to return this Iranian money in exchange for Iran's nuclear concessions, which Trump claims Iran is violating despite the entire US intel community that testified to the Senate this week that Iran is in compliance & Trump is the only one who has violated the agreement by refusing to honor it. The GOP spread the false story that Obama was giving Iran $400 million in American funds.
Could it be that Trump is getting so terrified that the legal net is closing in on him & his family, particularly Don, Jr. that he is trying to "wag the dog" by creating conflicts, even armed intervention in Venezuela & Iran.
Meanwhile, just to crack the whip over Trump's head, Putin released news of yet another secret meeting he had with Trump at the G20 summit. This time, there was only a Russian translator. Given that, in an earlier Trump-Putin meeting, Trump confiscated his American translator's notes & forbade her from discussing this with any other American - while Putin & Russian intelligence have full transcripts, you have to wonder why Trump needed to keep his talks with Putin secret from the entire country, including his Cabinet & Intel chiefs. Sounds to me like Trump was meeting in secret with his spy handler.
Whatever irregularities occurred in Venezuela’s most recent elections pale in comparison to the nakedly anti-democratic process that put the guy who came in second in 2016 in the White House.
Nobody seriously argues that Maduro didn’t actually get the most votes last year. That is why the coup plotters have decided to support Guaido instead of either of the two opposition figures that Maduro beat.
Maduro may well be unpopular, but Americans should not jump to the conclusion that this means that Guaido’s self declared status as “interim President” enjoys more support. This is theater mainly intended for consumption by international audiences forbthe purpose of covering up a US-sponsored coup attempt.
1
The USA has been messing with Central and South American politics for two centuries now. Part of the reason that Chavez was able to come to power was backlash against the USA. Maduro, a low-rent version of Chavez is pulling from an old playbook, while the USA dusts off Abrams of Iran-Contra fame. Both nation's are stuck in old history. I keep for the populace of Venezuela, so long controlled by outside forces.
4
Cool. This means a Democrat, say Nancy Pelosi, can self-administer the presidential oath of office to herself and get another country, say Great Britain, France, or Canada to allow the newly formed Democratic government to control USA assets. I’m good with this since it will save my country from the Republican Dictator Trump. Any Republicans who disagree are hypocrites.
If you’re not a Republican hypocrite tell Trump to stop interfering in foreign governments. This practice caused disastrous consequences in Latin America that the US is still dealing with as evidenced by the number of asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border.
Today’s government interference is tomorrow’s border crisis.
2
In what universe does a legislative leader unilaterally replace the elected President of a country? Yes, Maduro is corrupt and inept, and his election was disputed by some, but that description fits many of today's world leaders including our own President Trump. I suppose Nancy Pelosi should declare herself interim President. No doubt Germany and most of the EU would recognize her, and even impose sanctions on the US. Would this not be seen as an attempted coup by a foreign power? The current play in Venezuela is no less absurd.
6
We do nothing about the murderous thugs in Saudi Arabia and jump run in to overthrow a left wing government in Latin America. Saudi Arabia is a dictatorship pure and simple. Perhaps Maduro should simply claim he is King and then we would not worry about democracy at all in Venezuela. While the elections in Venezuela may have been flawed, where are the elections in Saudi Arabia?
4
Trump concerned about democracy in Venezuela? What a sick joke, this is about oil and nothing else.
4
This was mean for another article but that one was closed for an abundance of comments so (It was longer I had to cut it a lot ):
As a matter of fact I believe there is great danger in forgetting about those who feel they have been left behind and not creating policies to help and empower them in a way that don't create the wrong incentive, but allow them to feel that they have more control of their future and can also access the prosperity that other seem to be enjoying . Those who feel they have little to lose and no prospect of changing things will always fall for the next populist leader that tell them that all their trouble comes from the "others" (the rich, people from other religions, immigrants, et) and of course promise to make things right by taking it away from this "enemy" and giving it "back" to them. And of course things just get worse when people who are supposed to know better just call them ignorant, stupid or "deplorables" for making a bet that is indeed rational since they have little to lose and a lot to win, even if the latter has a low chance of happening.
As for Venezuela, even if I disagree in almost everything with Mr Trump I will be forever grateful (as most Venezuelan) if he helps Venezuela get out of this narco tyranny.
1
More democracy at the tip of a spear. We have a president who imitates a dictator in domestic affairs, and acts like a dictator in foreign affairs. It would be laughable if it wasn't so pathetically sad and scary.
Can Congress take over Trump’s accounts and give them to Nancy Pelosi?
1
I guess Trump wants to be the only authoritarian leader who won an illegitimate election left in office.
1
The notepad was no accident; it was meant to be seen.
1
I wish folks come to Bogota where I live part of the year.
It's a city literally over run by fleeing Venezuelans.
Kids are begging, parents are at traffic stops begging for a handout or washing windshields to collect small change.
Whole families are sleeping in the streets.
Immigration offices are over crowded with Venezuelans seeking papers so they can work. A waitress in a restaurant I frequent was fired because she could not get papers.
Heck, even oil industry professionals are beginning to outnumber natives in some offices. I know some doctors who have fled.
This hollowing of Venezuelan society is the result of this regime and it's mentor.
For the sake of these folks and for the sake of it's neighbors - something has to be done.
It's a catastrophe all knew was coming but we all had our eyes wide shut.
Time to open our eyes and do the right thing - get rid of this regime.
3
“due to crime, civil unrest, poor health infrastructure, and arbitrary arrest and detention of U.S. citizens.”
Just exactly what country are we referring to?
F3
Venezuela is a mess because of Maduro. We could say it isn't our problem but the fact that all of Latin America, Canada except Mexico and Uruguay most of Europe wants him gone, should give us comfort that we are doing the right thing. This has nothing to do with American imperialism,except for those who support Maduro like, Russia, China, Cuba, Iran and Turkey.
1
With a 85% Against poll for military Intervention, an 75% Against poll for foreign interference and a 82% poll for dialogue as a means to resolve there issues, given the dossier on the Chosen President, complicit past, It's time the Trump Administration NOT threaten death to a sovereign nation, to fulfill a Cold War Era agenda.
1
I’m confused, wasn’t Maduro the rightfully elected leader?
3
Wait! We are turning Venezuela's assets over to a guy who has never run for office? Whoever thought this up is more interested in controlling Venezuela than in helping it grow into a democratic state.
1
He was elected to his current office. The opposition controls the chamber. Maduro and his cronues then set up a rival unelected body. Baed on what has been published in this paper, Guaido has some aithority to take the action he has.
2
Guaido has more legitimacy than Maduro, being elected to head the Legislative Branch, while Maduro holds the Presidency due to rigged elections and intimidation. I certainly do not approve of the U.S. sending in troops to Venezuela, but supporting Mr. Guaido seems to be the right path. Critics should acknowledge than many South American nations, including Brazil, Chile and Argentina, also have recognized Mr. Guaido as the legitimate President, so it's not just the U.S. seeking to impose a puppet dictator like we unfortunately may have done in the past. We must tread carefully, but if you want to talk about humanitarian crisis, there is one in Venezuela right now, with the medical system collapsing, children starving and people fleeing in droves. Continuation with the Maduro regime has the potential to destabilize the entire region as more and more people flee to neighboring countries. The U.S. should work through the Organization of American States and the U.N. and not do anything further unilaterally.
6
US has been interfering there since 2001
1
@DC
The US has been interfering in Venenzuela since at least 1902-03 under Teddy Roosevelt. That’s as far back as my knowledge of the USA involving ourselves in Latin America goes. Anyone else?
1
Talking about interfering in a foreign country! I wish one of our legally elected governors would claim to have greater legitimacy and than our questionable current president.
4
Got to love the sound of crickets coming from the leadership of the Democratic Party that translates into tacit support for the coup that reeks of outside interference. It's all one big happy War Party.
5
the CIA and Republicans ought to be ashamed of themselves for this blatant attempt at a coup. The drone plan was clearly them; and now they are openly trying to overthrow a government based on ideological differences, and the fact that they want equality for the poor? This is outrageous, and if they want to point to this as a failure in socialism, then can we not point to Pinochet, Hitler and Mussolini as failures of capitalism. A handful of people own more than 50% of the poorest people in the world, and while they hoard their money and tell themselves they are heroes for not spending it ostentatiously, we go out of our way on behalf of the people of this country to overthrow poor people. I think the country that needs a coup d etat is the United States. Our foreign policy is broken, and if we can complain about Russian interference in our elections how can we sit here and stand for this blatant hypocrisy as we bully our way into interefering with theirs. Maybe Russia was right to target our country; because as things stand, based on the disparities in this country, we are ripe for a coup. The elites need to be overthrown; billionaires should have their bank accounts emptied. There should be a 500 million dollar maximum you are allowed to have, everything else should be spent. This is not evidence that socialism cannot work. This is evidence that we are corrupt, our National Security Apparatus is corrupt, and perhaps the only way to defeat such corruption is a coup
2
The developed nations need to help the Venezuelans get stolen billions of dollars from Hugo Chavez' daughter. This may be far trickier than the Palestinians retrieving the huge sums that Yasir Arafat stole from his ''beloved'' Palestinians.
5
Maduro’s leftist government has eviscerated Venezuela’s once wealthy economy and impoverished its people, while trampling on their rights and imprisoning dissenters. Yet a lot of comments strongly censure the United States for trying to undermine Maduro’s dictatorial hold on power. They attribute cynicism and a violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty on the part of the US in supporting a democratic opposition leader, imputing tactics to control foreign natural resources or worse, helping the rich and making socialism look bad. Well, socialism looks terrible on its own without US help! The poor are suffering, the middle class is gone, and the rich are mostly Maduro’s party apparatchiks and military leaders. What could be worse? Stalin?
3
@Michael George
When someone appoints themselves “interim president” you don’t get to call them a “democratic opposition leader.” We attribute cynicism and violation of sovereignty to the US because we know it’s long sordid history in Latin America.
Hugo Chavez was reelected in the most transparent elections in Latin American history and his policies dramatically reduced poverty and improved the lives of the majority of Venezuelans. None of that stopped the US from doing everything in its power to foment a coup or otherwise destabilize the country.
How much of Venezuela’s present difficulties are a result of Maduro’s mismanagement and how much are due to US-led efforts to sabotage the economy is hard to say. What we can say is that the sabotage efforts have been significant and indifferent to the resulting human suffering.
Socialist revolutions have only ever triumphed in countries already ravaged by capitalism and imperialism and in every case have immediately become the targets of coordinated international attacks by the world’s greatest powers. When these counter-revolutionary efforts succeed, as occurred in Chile in 1973, the result has not been the establishment of liberal democracies but rather of the most murderous sorts of torture states.
Anybody who thinks the course the US is pursuing In Venezuela won’t have a similarly grisly outcome is naive. We are witnessing the prelude to a civil war. Americans of conscience need to protest in the streets to stop it now.
1
US President Trump has denied the validity of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, denouncing his election as illegitimate. Some might choke on the irony.
5
No one elected Guiadó president of Venezuela, he assumed that position on his own. Review the 3 articles of the Venezuelan Constitution he's cited & you plainly see his claim is baseless. Thanks to the WSJ we know the Trump administration planned & coordinated Guiadó's theatrical coming out party & it continues to be the muscle behind him.
The economic & public health crisis in Venezuela is real. Although it began with the steep drop in oil prices several years ago, US economic sanctions is the factor most responsible for the continuing & deepening crisis. Sanctions have reduced the hard currency necessary to import food, medicine & other essential goods, & has locked Venezuela out of the credit market. Resources are not available to maintain the oil fields or supporting industry. Sanctions are driving the crisis & the coup.
The Trump administration isn't concerned about the Venezuelan people, democracy or human rights. Handing responsibility for this project to John Bolton, a rabid hawk, & Elliott Abrams, a military death squad apologist, drives this home.
Venezuelan oil is a driving force, as described by Bolton interviewed on Fox Business (01/24/19) citing the the economic benefit of regime change to the US. "It will make a big difference to the United States economically if we could have American oil companies invest in & produce the oil capabilities in Venezuela."
Opposing US economic & military intervention in Venezuela is the only humanitarian course of action.
6
@J Albers
Thank you. This is an excellent analysis.
1
Trump setting us up for "his" war; the Biggest; the Best; the most Beautiful war ever. Easy to win. Ray Sipe
1
How reckless. I would like to see a Nuremberg-type trial for Trump and his swamp creatures for misusing the country’s resources to commit unlawful acts. How is it that every day brings worse and worse news? We the people stand so benumbed that the mind cannot take this anymore. Argh.
1
I will be thrilled when Russia and China inform US Prosecutors about Trump Family bank accounts hidden in their countries!
1
dude, take the money, move to somewhere.
We're becoming more and more a banana republic. Of course we'll be the biggest, and the best of all the bananas. The BIGGEST banana ever.
4
The hypocrisy and of the United States. While there is anger and outcry about the alleged Russian involvement in our election, the administration and some of the lawmakers of both parties staged an illegal coup d'etat in Venezuela and now, they have broken the international law by giving their puppet the permission to plunder the the Venezuela's money in the US. This constant blatant overthrowing of the governments of sovereign nations which refuse to be the US puppets is not only illegal, but also crime against humanity. Further, all the illegal regime changes by the US have resulted in deaths of innocent people and the destruction of the targeted countries.
Regarding the US fighting for the so-called US version of the 'human rights', what about the friendly US puppet leaders around the world who abuse and murder those who oppose them or those who dare to speak against them?
No, the US uses 'human rights' excuse to overthrow governments whenever its major companies lose influence in those countries. It is all about greed and US power in the world. The US and the west don't care about the rights of others. All they care is controlling the natural resources of the weaker nations. It is despicable, immoral, and crime against humanity to plunder other countries.
Finally, the overthrowing of the sovereign governments, disregard for the international law, and bullying by the US will be detrimental to the US interests overseas in the long run. The world is waking. Will we?
2
What is he going to do with the money, buy food and medicine for the poor in Venezuela? He is a traitor, selling the resources of his country to the big oil. Who is he anyway, he was not elected?
Trump did not win the election even with Russian help, we need a regime change too, he is selling the nation to our oligarchs too and he was not elected by the people either.
One thing we do know, there is not one country in the Americas that benefitted from an American organized coup de tat, not one, it only gets worse. Chile has yet to recover from the coup de tat and the killing of elected Allende. The oligarchs in Venezuela did nothing for the people before Chavez and will do nothing after Maduro, only the oligarchs and the American oil giants will win.
3
From the WSJ "The elected Venezuelan National Assembly named Juan Guaidó its interim president, as it is allowed to do under the Venezuelan constitution. The U.S. merely recognized him as the legitimate president of the country." Who do we believe.
The collapse of Venezuela's economy has in part been brought about thought U.S, manipulation of global oil prices through its allies in OPEC to destabilize the Maduro government, much in the same way the U.S. destabilized Allende's Chile in the 1970s by manipulating copper prices. If there was any hope that the U.S. was intent of actually helping the Venezuelan people, they were ended by the appointment of convicted criminal Elliot Abrams (who was responsible for managing coups and right-wing death squads in Latin America, as well as directing U.S. support for genocidal dictators like Guatemala's Efraín Ríos Montt) as envoy.
2
It is too bad that once again, as history has shown, the U.S. is the overseer of Latin America. Misbehave, and that means that anyone who assumes power in any Latin American country who is not willing to do the bidding of the U.S. will be eliminated either by coups or covered action by the U.S. military and intelligence. Only those leaders willing to give total access to Latin American resources can count on US support. Guaido, because he declared himself the new president of Venenzuela will be seen as nothing but a puppet, and because he is getting help from the U.S. will have to be generous to the U.S. to keep his position. Pity for Venenzuelans whose only hope is changing one dictator for another. Such a system means that at some time in the near future, when Guaido does more for the U.S. interests than for the poor in Venenzuela, he too will fall victim to this insidious nation building that the U.S. has participated in around the world believing that its' might allows it to do whatever it wants to do to countries who cannot militarily challenge it. The current immigration issues are directly tied to the U.S. installing elites into power, who then break the backs of the poor and run right wing death squads against the left when they get into power. Naturally when the U.S. steps in there will be well deserved cynicism about its intentions.
24
@Maria Rodriguez Incredibly ill-informed comment. You know who's given access to Venezuela's resources to foreign powers? Maduro - who has mortgaged Venezuela's future to China and Russia along with Cuba. The imperialists here are the states like China, Turkey, Syria and Russia who refuse to recognize the democratic will of the Venezuelan people, NOT the United States. The US is aligned with almost all of Latin America on this issue.
3
Those supporting Maduro haven't been paying attention. Both Cuba and Russia have slowly over time armed Venezuela with militia and equipment. And it's been reported that China is also either involved or considering it. This would be Russia's first base in the Americas. A month ago they sent two nuclear capable bombers to Caracus.
I would say this has become a potential U.S. National security threat.
@Frank Leibold
By militias you are referring presumably to the 1.6 million armed Venezuelans organized and trained to repel the U.S. invasion presently being planned. These are no threat to the “national security” of the US. They are, however, a real threat to US efforts to restore the powers of the old Venezuelan oligarchy and US oil companies.
If the policy of the US was about illegitimate elections, it would have acted shortly after the illegitimate elections occurred. It sounds interested in claiming Venezuela’s oil exports from Russia and China. I wonder if Venezuelan citizens have a preference for which global power takes advantage of their country’s natural resources for no real benefit to the people of the country. If the country claims its own freedom it can pick exporting its resources to neither global power.
So Trump is helping the opposition for what? Democracy? Compassion for the people of Venezuela/ Nope, he expects his buddies in the US oil industry to get that Venezuelan oil, like in the good old days.
2
Considering how much the present administration and it's supporters has voiced their opposition to caravans of brown people marching through Central America to get away from the poverty, gangs and political upheaval (ignoring the many US fingerprints on those countries), it's not without some irony that I can't help but wonder what's going to happen in a generation (or less) as caravans march from Venezuela through CA to our southern border, again, to escape the results of another American president's fingerprints all over their country?
12
@Christopher Floyd
Three million have already fled to Columbia, Equador and Peru. Two million more are expected.
But there is another issue here that no one has mentioned. Over the past two years both Cuba and Russia have quietly sent secret police, contract troops and equipment to Venezuela. Some estimate as many as 40k. Russia a month ago sent two nuclear capable bombers to Caracus. It could be Russia's first base in the Americas. China is talking to Maduro about how they could help?
I would consider this a potential national security threat. Wouldn't you?
@OldTimer
These “refugee” figures are propagandistic nonsense. Venezuela has a population of 31 million. If you think 10% of the country have become refugees it’s because you don’t know when you are being lied to. US sanctions have produced a serious economic crisis. More Venezuelans than usual have left the country. It’s a bad development. To characterize them as refugees rather than migrants or to claim that there is anywhere near 3 million of them is to distort the truth beyond recognition.
Turning over vast amounts of state money w/zero safe-guards or controls seems like a recipe for massive corruption.
3
What could go wrong?
This money will probably be washed and end up investing in one of Kushner's debt-ridden family investments. What government would ever deposit anything here now?
2
For someone who seemingly did not like the concept of messing around in other nation's internal business; Trump has willingly signed onto Regime Change.
Of course;the man has no particular philosophy; on anything except himself, that is,- making himself rich(er).
We never learn; we prop up unsavory men when it benefits us and help to install unsavory men- when it benefits us. When other nation's people elect who-they-will- and we don't like "the fit" we help topple the government.
Whether Venezuela's opposition leader turns out to be best for Venezuela; the U.S. doesn't know and doesn't particularly care. Bolton, Miller, Bannon and convicted felon Elliot Abrams know this too.
1
What democratic legitimacy does the opposition have? By this action, the US is a direct participant in a coup.
94
@Doug Lowenthal
Does this surprise you? The Trump administration is simply following the policy declared in 1823, the Monroe doctrine. It is hard to give up control when you have had it for 196 years with little opposition throughout the Americas. Has anyone, besides me, read retired major general Smedley Butler's book, War Is A Racket? Little has changed since 1935.
15
@Robert Marvos Doug, I've read the book, and it is clear that this kind of intervention, interference, and violence is done for profits for companies, not for people. I agree with you. This is not new with Trump, but has been practiced by every USA president, before and after 1935. I am horrified to be American. We have so many resources- it could have been a different story....
10
@Doug Lowenthal do you mean aside from the fact that they won 2/3's of the National Assembly seats in 2015, an election which the Maduro government nullified? The coup was staged by Maduro in 2015.
5
Here we go again backing a right wing coup to undermine a democratically elected leader of an oil rich country. First we create all kinds of sanctions against Venezuela and now we give control of money in American banks to a political unknown in an effort to take control of their oil. I hate to think of what's coming next.
52
@Mr Robert What is he going to do with the money, share it with Trump, he always needs more money.
3
@Mr Robert
This is far from a right-wing coup. The one who lacks political legitimacy here is Maduro, who has repeatedly stolen elections, jailed the opposition, dissolved the Supreme Court, and created a parallel national assembly because the opposition has 2/3 of the seats in the legitimate one. Yes, Venezuela is an oil-rich country, but due to the thievery and corruption of the Maduro regime, people are starving to death. Get the facts straight.
1
I guess there no longer is such a thing as sovereignty. America is exporting civil war and disruption in Venezuela. All in the name of......?This can’t turn out well. Syria and Venezuela have bull’s eyes on them. Is the State Department running this show, or is Chevron?
32
@Richard Mays Nicaragua has a bull's eye on the back too, they may be poor but they can't be socialists, the US will find an American owned dictator for them too.
1
@Richard Mays how is Americ exporting civil war to Venezuela when Maduro has created this entire implosion of sorts? I support social democracies but what Maduro has implemented is a totalitarian regime that silences and oppresses all those who oppose his tyranny. Surely the US has previously created chaos in the regime but this time the only individual to blame is Maduro and his cronies (maybe the Russians as well).
1
Well, this is...refreshing. So open and honest: we're an empire and the Monroe Doctrine is in full effect! We have the might and don't send us your refugees when our interference creates suffering and instability!
36
So much for respecting national self determination.
18
@Jordan you mean democracy? It never happened anywhere, we even destroyed it, see Chile.
@Jordan If the election that put Maduro in power was fraudulent, was there really "national self determination"?
1
Americans are woefully uninformed about anything beyond their doorsteps. They have a view of Latin America from 1960 and still look down on countries South of our border. Venezuelan people are suffering terribly and no one in this country cares they see things through the old narrative of left wing right wing that. Maduro is not left nor is Guaidó a right wing dictator. Maduro is criminal who doesn’t even accept humanitarian aid for his own people. My family lives in Venezuela and my uncle has Parkinson’s. The family has to buy medicines here and smuggle them across the border through Columbia. I am very surprised the US is taking any action. Hopefully the people will be free soon and the stories will be told to the world.
37
@Stefan Mercado it will not end well, it never has in any country in Latin America and the world, the ME is for all to see.
Castro was lucky, he had an island and no oil. The US is still undermining the Cuban economy with the help of the Batista Cubans.
5
Venezuela has oil lots of it , take away the oil this country could care less.
19
As the child of first generation Iranian immigrants who fled when the US interfered and helped to bring about the Iranian Revolution, I am eternally dubious of foreign intervention.
Any moral person would want the economic lives of our Venezuelan friends to be improved and quickly! Let us hope that these steps to give bank accounts to the opposition leader does not actually cause something much worse to happen.
13
@SunSo much money at the disposal of a young and greedy man can go well.
If Americans wanted to help, they would have spent the money on food and medicine for the people. They don't, they want the oil, nothing else. Bolton already said so, how it will benefit the Americans.
4
The help of the US is necessary at this stage, even though we can all agree Trump is not doing it because he is noble. Maduro has usurped the levers of power, including from the Venezuelan congress, to which the opposition was elected overwhelmingly. He later made sure to control the "electoral" commission for the election he "won". He controls the Supreme Court. This leaves the people of Venezuela with few constitutional options if they are to throw off his tyranny. The Venezuelan congress elected a leader for the process of calling new elections, due to no other options. Now, governments representing 80% of the population of South America have repudiated Maduro, at last. I hope for the best for the people of Venezuela.
3
@Dnain1953 Most likely a military junta will seize power, but the US likes the right kind of dictatorship.
@Dnain1953 If you substitute the name "Trump" for the name "Maduro," you have a fair description of Trump's actions and presidency. Too bad there is no country to help the U.S. hold a coup on Trump. We are in desperate straits with Trump in control of the senate, almost half of the house, the Supreme Court, and rigging everything else to maintain his throttle hold on our throats.
2
Whatever one thinks of the decision to support the opposition, the action on bank accounts is consistent with recognition of the opposition. It’s really for the protection of the banks. Whenever there’s a coup, revolution or whatever in a foreign country, banks with accounts of that government usually get instructions to transfer funds from the “former” government and the “new” one. Which ones do the banks have to honor?. The banks pursuant to the statute cited in the order (Section 25B of the Federal Reserve Act) can rely on the statement of the State Department to determine which are to bet treated as valid.
1
I don't think that many of the posters have understood what is going on in Venezuela. The NYT has run many articles of people fleeing the country, starvation, no food in the stores, people unable to purchase the medicine they need. etc. All the countries bordering Venezuela are experience a huge influx o Venezuelans. The country is in really sorry shape.
Various international organization have declared the election results as being marred with vote rigging, vote buying, and ballot stuffing -- in the election is invalid.
You can argue whether or not the US should intervene, but the mess is causing an overflow of asylum seekers from Venezuela. All the countries bordering Venezuela want something done - they can't bear the burden of the fleeing popularce
I suggest that some of you need to go back and read the stories the NYT printed about this crisis
15
@judyweller I have read the articles and agree that the country is in terrible shape, however, replacing Maduro with a US 'preferred' candidate is unlikely to be a good solution. Looking at history, when the US has selected and backed its preferred candidate it has generally not worked out well. Think Vietnam, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq....
1
@Dan M If they go ahead with nation wide elections they should be all right.
But right now Venezuela is on the point of destabilizing other countries in the region as the flood of refugees overwhelms these neighboring countries.
The huge number of misinformed comments here are staggering. Trump administration policy towards Venezuela is no different than Obama administration policy towards Venezuela - it's pretty much exactly the same. The only difference now is Maduro ran a fraudulent election then appointed himself the winner. Guaidó is the leader of the National Assembly, which under Venezuela's constitution gives him power in the event of a breach. The majority of the civilized world recognizes this, including most of Latin America and Europe. Maduro is backed by Russia, China, Syria and Turkey - a squalid pack of autocrats. The United States is right to do everything it can to back the democratically elected leader of Venezuela and everything it can to restore democracy to the people of Venezuela.
15
@Shane Thank you! As a Venezuelan/American that is a Democrat and voted for Hillary, I cannot think in something else that I agree with this Administration. But you are correct, a lot of uninformed people here trying to look thru the US GOP/Dem lenses. As much as I don't like to admit, Rubio if well informed in this specific matter and has been dealing with this issue properly.
4
@Shane Your assertion that Trump's policy toward Venezuela is "no different from" or "pretty much exactly the same" (sic) as Obama's is patently false.
Although the Obama administration did place sanctions against certain individuals in the Venezuelan government, they neither had the breadth nor depth of those that Trump has thrown down himself. And as this article describes, these new sanctions rob the Venezuelan government of funds & assets belonging to PDVSA & it's subsidiary. CITGO, to a self-appointed 'president'.
Obama did not engage in the threats of military intervention, ie, Bolton's "5000 troops to Colombia" notes or sending the head of the US Southern Command to Colombia. Trump's policy is intended to cause extreme misery and fear.
I dare you you read the Venezuelan Constitution (available on line in English) and describe where it authorizes the President of the Assembly to usurp authority from a sitting president. The 3 articles in the Constitution Guiadó cites do not and no matter how many times this lie is told it doesn't make it true.
US support for the unsuccessful coup against Chavez in 2002 and it's economic war against Venezuela has pushed it to seek support from any country that will give it, including Russia and the largest US trading partner, China.
But do YOU really need to be reminded of the past and current dictators and authoritarian regimes the US backs/has backed? They make Maduro look like a choir boy.
The only solution is negotiation.
1
What would be the reason for a war against the regime in Venezuela? The country looks as Berlin after WW2 just ended. The morale of the soldiers in clearly in bad shape. The production of oil looks as if an invisible army destroyed 54% of the oil wells. Poor people don't have food, medicine and clothes Many factories are closed. Annual inflation rate is 1 million percent. Millions left the country. As a result real estate prices went down by 80%, but who wants to buy a home there?
Venezuela doesn't need war. The country needs food, medicines and peace. A Marshall Plan. We miss the "Wise Men"
3
@M Martínez
Yes, it needs a Marshall Plan. But, it needs a change in government first. Maduro has run the country into the ground and we shouldn't feed should a disastrous regime.
@M Martínez I completely agree. However, there cannot be a "Marshal Plan" until Venezuela has a stable reliable government. That has to be the first step.
“The President was kept well informed during the incident and remained on notice for future developments should the need to take swift and decisive action arise.”
Haha, just kidding.
8
American interventions in the Middle East and elsewhere have created more terrorists than Saudi Arabia's extremist Wahhabbsm religion.
But the U.S. continues to fixate solely on its own border security while being oblivious to the fact that it's actually the world that needs to be protected from America's bellicose foreign policies.
2
There is a great deal of indignation on the part of the Maduro regime and cynicism as to the motivation of our administration in many of the comments here. I pose this question: if the people do not view an election as legitimate and the "legitimate" government is doing nothing to stop its citizens from starving in the streets, what recourse do the people have other than to stage a coup? Furthermore, once they have gathered the courage to act, don't we have a moral obligation to support them by the means available to us? The interim government's primary purpose is simply to ensure legitimate elections occur.
2
@ART This might be the USA down the road under Trump.
Yeah, here we go. This is what it’s all about. What a shame the opposition is being co-opted by business interests who just want access to Venezuela’s wealth, and don’t care if those who resist Maduro are transformed into puppets administering a client state.
3
I have never been a fan of embargoes against any government as most of the time they only hurt the general population.
Our government has had an embargo on Cuba for many decades and Fidel stayed in power.
We have an embargo on Iran and the religious leaders are still in power, and the population suffers.
I agree that Maduro is a moronic despot, but, he is his country's despot and any action taken against Maduro is the job of the citizens, not us.
So, here we go again, nation building, and meddling where we shouldn't.
We have never learned our lessons from our involvement in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Vietnam, to name a few countries that we meddled in.
So, here we go again.
5
Venezuela’s oil wealth has been flowing straight into the pockets of Madura and before him Chavez.
Maybe the new leader is good, maybe bad, but he won’t be worse. People are starving in Venezuela while Maduro looks like he should skip a few meals.
I hope that all the countries that support a presidential change will stand together with the people, not the thieving rulers of Venezuela.
5
Sadly, my question is, Why does Putin want this?
4
We have just declared war on Venezuela. Considering our track record since WW2, we should be involved in this new conflict for 15-20 years and spend $2-3 trillion.
Buckle up my countrymen and women. No better time to ramp up a new conflict than when another (Afghanistan) is victoriously winding down.
4
@Dario Nice distraction from the Mueller investigation, too.
1
I’m in charged in Saudi Arabia now. Please forward me the access to their billions held in the US.
Were ‘elections’ in Venezuela any less fair than what is going on in Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, North Korea, Cuba, or...
3
Why would foreign countries leave their gold or currency reserves in foreign central banks.
@DC
If they didn't keep reserves in foreign central banks, it would be very time-consuming and expensive to settle transactions.
2
I can’t wait until the accounts of Trump, Kushner, et al are seized.
8
Can’t wait to see the audit trail on this maneuver.
5
Yes. Another puppet for Washington! That's what we call democracy.
7
I do not agree with the Trump administration (or Mike Pompeo) on anything, but I do like the way they are helping Venezuela. However- no military action- that would be very bad for us and for them.
Venezuela has suffered a totally incompetent ruthless dictatorship and it’s people are desperate. I’m glad we are supporting freedom and self determination for our neighbors.
4
@Barbara Vilaseca The US did exactly the same thing when we armed the "rebels" in Afganistan- who became terrorists against the US.
So many posters here have absolutely no idea what they're talking about.
In 2015, parliamentary elections were held in Venezuela. The opposition won 2/3's of the seats in the National Assembly, a supermajority. The outgoing assembly (members of Maduro's party, which had just lost) declared their own body null and void, and created an alternate assembly which (surprise, surprise) was filled with Maduro supporters. It's like if after November 2018, Republicans in the House declared the House closed and designated a new House in which they were the majority. They literally just made this up out of thin air. The Venezuelan Supreme Court was then packed with Maduro supporters, who (again, surprise) declared the whole thing legal.
Article 233 of the Venezuelan constitution states that "the President of the National Assembly shall take charge" upon the declaration of the general assembly that the president is unfit to serve. The general assembly has made such a declaration, and guess who the president of the National Assembly is? Guaido. The constitution calls for elections within 30 days.
So yes, Guaido was duly and democratically elected to his position, and he has a legitimate claim on the Venezuelan interim presidency.
Please stop making hysterical declarations about things of which you have absolutely no understanding.
9
I find it amazing that the US finds it perfectly normal to interfere in other countries' affairs. What's next: death squads masquerading as freedom fighters?
Xi Jinping should hand over all the US treasury bonds that China owns to Hillary Clinton since she was the democratically elected leader of the US.
5
@Rajesh Kasturirangan
That makes no sense. US Treasury bonds are an asset of China and a debt of the US. Why would China hand its assets over to the authority of the president of the US, whomever that might be?
Bolton showed up at a news conference with “5,000 troops to Colombia.” showing on a notepad?
He should be fired immediately.
7
@RD Either that was an unsubtle signal intended to worry Venezuela (and cause possible political trouble for the Colombian government) or it was sloppiness. If the latter, you're right, he should be dismissed.
This is a brave man
There was a presidential election in that one candidate received 2 million more votes than the another candidate seized power....hmmmm
Another presidential election vote count was halted by a higher court...
.... hmmmm
7
How can the thieves in the White House steal money from Venezuela's government. The US on its own can decide who is the legal government in Venezuela. Something rotten in oil-greedy Washington DC not saying they want to steal Venezuelan oil but maybe that's what the deep scoundrels seem to be doing.
4
Watch out world here it comes.
3
"He appeared at a White House news conference clutching a yellow notepad that had a cryptic phrase scrawled on the top sheet: 5,000 troops to Colombia.'"
It looks like when it comes to strategic leaking, Bolton is a DIY kinda guy.
6
The US should not get involved in any way until we have a POTUS.
3
When this administration is done, we should send Pence to Venezuela and Trump to North Korea so they can really MAGA.
6
We should have done this with Hillary after the 2016 election!
4
@Henry Perlmutter
Hillary Clinton staged the 2009 Honduran coup d'état. A despotic US puppet was put in charge. The result, corruption, rape, murder of innocent people, and thousands of Honduran refugees at our southern border. The US stages coup d'etat, destroys the countries in the process and lets the innocent people suffer.
This is a coup, plain and simple. The crisis in Venezuela has everything to do with a combination of tying their entire economy to oil prices which tumbled. This was then exacerbated by an opposition with ties to right wing paramilitaries and the drug cartels whose job was to disrupt the economy further. On top of the US deciding to put the screws to them in the hopes of setting the stage for exactly this result.
Of course the opposition will only be in power for a couple of years before the real monsters like Bolsonaro finally take over. We love to see the caravans of death riding around Latin America don't we? Some things never change.
3
And Pence has the power to do so, how? HOW?
He should NOT be able to get away with this. He is precipitating a major crisis and he's way, Way WAY out of his league here. This is not Indiana, pal. You are the catalyst causing an international crisis.
50
@matty the crisis has already hit Venezuela, inflation is in the thousands, hunger is prevalent, 3 million Venezuelans have fled as economic refugees and child mortality has gone up significantly since Maduro is in power. This is without mention of how Maduro has subverted the democratic process and negated what the majority of Venezuelans want.
3
WHAT? Uh...has he been duly chosen by any legal process within his own country? Despite his desirability over the current despot, you can’t legitimately turn over sovereign fund control to such a figure!
34
@jimD Brief answer: yes he has, by the elected Asamblea Nacional de Venezuela.
If this country's meddling in Latin America would lead to stable democracies, then there would be no need for Border Security.
Unfortunately, we keep propping up pseudo democracies that leave their citizens as prey for gangs-forcing them to trek to the US or give money to a disorganized 'interim president' that will only make things more unstable.
42
3m people have left this country because of the dictatorship it currently “enjoys”. Get rid of them and you will not see Venezuelans over staying their visas (which is the real problem in immigration, not the lack of a wall).
1
The danger of doing business in the USA. You would think Venezuela and every other country doing business in the USA would get smarter.
1) Get paid on shipment by a third party non US Bank
2) Get confirmation of transfer of funds to third party bank before shipment
3) Get your funds out to your country's bank immediately on fund release
9
This is disgusting. We are supporting a right wing coup in a country we have helped to devastate all to make socialism look bad. First, there are so many successful socialist countries to disprove the lie. And second, they just had an election. Leave them alone!
45
@Aaron how can you claim this is right wing? As a leftist myself, I strongly disagree with Maduro and what he has done to his country. Like Ortega, he has become a dictator and destroyed his own country. Maduro has as much of an ego as Trump.
3
@Aaron Muduro doesn't need any help in "making socialism look bad." He's doing a great job of doing that all on his own. Even people far more competent than the ex-bus driver have a hard time making socialism look good.
5
@Aaron - There are NO successful socialist countries. There are, however, MANY successful social democracies. A big difference that Americans can't get their heads around.
6
We love to do our Banana Republic Act. Plus, Trump obsesses about stealing other peoples oil.
Will our allies recognize Hillary Clinton if Mueller gets the goods on Trump and Putin?
34
@displacedyankee
Well, short of a Banana Republic, because Venezuela has always had a diversified economy (until recently) they could be called an "Oil Republic." But banana? No, they don't have a one cash crop economy.
As much as I despised Maduro, this is not the right thing to do. There are international laws and they have to be respected. Mr. Guaido was not elected president and should not be considered as such just because Mr Rubio and his rich Venezuelans backers in Miami think so.
If the US wants to support democracy in third words countries, not just Venezuela, the solution is to fight corruption. There was an excellent times article 2 months ago about a former bodyguard of Chavez living large in Miami with more than $1 billion in assets.
Most corrupt leaders in 3rd world countries whether African, South America or Asia keep their corrupt money in western banks and institutions.
If the US were to sanction Banks handling those corrupt funds the same way the US would sanction banks dealing with money links to terrorism, those dictators would find no need to stay in power.
36
@Chaks - The lawless Trump administration recognizes no laws, not here, and not in foreign countries.
5
@Chaks
This is not in the interests of American banks, just as it is not in the interests of American weapons and munitions manufacturers and military aircraft manufacturers to stop selling their wares to right-wing dictators around the world.
The function of our military has always been to protect the profitability of American businesses around the world. That was the purpose of the Monroe doctrine that has been the backbone of American foreign policy for 196 years.
4
At last, we are paying more than passing attention to US interests in South America.
I don't believe that this is a case of our interest in oil, it's our interest in stability in South and Central America.
Next the United States needs to have a coherent policy for Central America, Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras.
It is long past time for the United States to pay attention to its neglected neighbors to the South.
7
@UTBG I don't think anyone in Central or South America believes they've been "neglected" by the US. We've interfered in the affairs of Latin America and the Caribbean for at least 60 plus years. It's not always a good thing. Please read up on what the Reagan administration did to the people of that region.
6
Given the investigations into campaign meddling during the US 2016 election cycle by foreign interests this story boggles my mind... Especially when Individual 1, who can't answer the same question the same way twice, is the arbiter of who's legitimate.
24
The US government promotes regime change in any country it wants gone, right or wrong (usually wrong).
Why can't we have regime change here?
68
@Mass independent
There has been a joke circulating throughout the Americas:
Why has there never been a military coupe in the U.S.?
Because the is no American Embassy in the U.S.!
4
It is mostly about geopolitics and money. Very little to to with democracy or humanitaruan aspects. And it should be reported as such.
21
Guaidó is a pawn in a coup attempt against the legitimate government of Venezuela. Imagine foreign powers deciding Trump was not the President and recognized Hillary Clinton and gave her the keys to US assets.
44
@race_to_the_bottom Apparently your political opinion on this specific matter is a race to the bottom in terms of understanding the situation of Venezuela. If you try to get a little bit of information in this regard, you will quickly realize that there is nothing legitimate about the current Government of Venezuela, and from the legal point of view and following the correct interpretation of Venezuelan constitution, Guaido is the legitimate interim president of Venezuela. Ask any Venezuelan that you might know.
3
@race_to_the_bottom Imagine you had any idea what you were talking about. Guaido and the opposition won 2/3's of the National Assembly seats in 2015. The Maduro government dismissed the National Assembly and replaced it with a "consituent assembly" packed with government supporters.
Here's an accurate analogy: imagine the Democrats won the House in 2018, and the Trump administration declared the House no longer had legal authority and created its own House full of Republicans.
4
Weaponizing our banking system is an incredibly bad idea. The whole premise of declaring Guaido the legitimate leader of a sovereign nation is flawed, but this ties our banking system to our political structure and that will frighten other nations into avoiding this risk.
16
Let us hope we do not get militarily involved in another foreign civil war.
Just an observation during yesterday's press briefing regarding John Bolton. The closeup press photo of his notepad with the line "5000 troops to Columbia" written on it strikes me as State Department stagecraft.
Say what you will about him and his viewpoints but I think he's savvy enough to not appear before cameras with a fresh yellow legal pad with only two lines on it with one suggesting military presence on Venezuela's border and then hold it against his chest facing outward.
It looked like a staged deterrent message for Maduro's attention, with the U.S. more then likely having no such real plan in place and the press delivered it. If so a clever tactic, especially if it actually helps deter violence.
4
“Washington Bullets”
It’s a great song by the Clash.
Coincidentally still relevant.
7
There's got to be a motive from Trump that we haven't figure out yet, there's no way it's about the suffering of the people.
13
@Lisa
The motive is distraction.
4
It's obvious Trump will go out of his way to undermine anything that smacks of the dreaded Socialism; Social Security, Social Services, Democratic and/or Progressive Socialism, and, oh yeah, Venezuelan Socialism.
16
As world powers and staples to the world economy, I don't think it's right for the US, Russia or China to be meddling in potential military coups or the civil wars of other nations. It's rather petty to be picking favorites in a movement that will likely end only after years, perhaps decades, of bloody contest over which dictator will control Venezuelan oil.
How much do we know about Guadio? How do we know he isn't a puppet being used to hoist someone else into power? How do we know he doesn't want power himself? To be so rash and hand Venezuelan assets to a potential coup could be disastrous.
6
Our president and his administration lack the moral authority to question the legitimacy of another country's government.
25
There is no question that Maduro needs to go, but given the average Venezuelan's antipathy for Trump, these kinds of strong-arm tactics on the part of the U.S. are likely to do little but fire up Maduro's base of support.
Bullying tactics in this instance will not be helpful.
8
We support the opposition leader and then give him the control of Central Bank of Venezuela US accounts to him, is this a conflict of interest by our government?
8
@Usok No, not when the constitution of VZ says that the president of the assembly is the Acting President, which is what has happened here, since the presiden't office is currently vacant.
Can someone who follows these things say something about what is going on here. All diplomacy in the Trump era is personalized and based only on Trumps' liking for Duterte, MSB, Putin, and his dislike for Merkel and anyone who was friendly with Obama. Bolton, Pence, Pompeio never initiate anything, just toady up to those Trump has already chosen. Is this about Trump meeting with the US citizen from Utah who was released from Venezuelan prison? I am quite baffled by this. No way Trump could pick out Venezuela on an unlabelled map. When he mentions Byelarus or Macedonia or other things outside his limited experience, there is always a recent conversation that explains it.
8
This is a bad precedence that could have unintended results for the U.S.
There is no legal basis for a government to hand over control of bank accounts belonging to a sovereign nation to a person who was not elected president and has no standing to assume control of its assets. Using the rational of the Trump administration, China could freeze all U.S. assets, trillions of dollars, based on the fact that Trump is an illegitimate president whose election is tainted by fraud.
There is certainly plenty of evidence to question the electoral and legal legitimacy of Trump’s presidency, just like Maduro’s legitimacy can be questioned due to the high level of abstention of the electorate in the last Venezuelan presidential election. However, for a government to invest itself with the authority to seize the assets of a sovereign government is not only patently illegal, but also an invitation for other governments to act the same way.
24
@A. Garcia
The US has been propping up Latin American governments for decades.
Remember what happened to the Honduran president who wanted to socialize the country?
OUT!
Oh no, we want the rich to rule.
And when their governments protect only the wealthy, and their citizens form 'caravans' to escape, we vilify them.
Other examples?
Let's see:
Grenada, Panama, Cuba...
I hope you see what I am saying.
6
@A. Garcia
"There is no legal basis for a government to hand over control of bank accounts belonging to a sovereign nation to a person who was not elected president and has no standing to assume control of its assets."
There is plenty of precedent for such action. It happens all the time when the US (and other nations) recognizes new leadership installed by a coup or civil war. If it didn't, relatives of the Czar would have legal control over Russian government assets.
"Using the rational of the Trump administration, China could freeze all U.S. assets, trillions of dollars, based on the fact that Trump is an illegitimate president whose election is tainted by fraud."
It could, but that wouldn't be very practical for China because the "Hillary Clinton administration" would be unable to keep any commitments that it might make as it doesn't control any branches of the government, nor is there any reasonable prospect that it will. Plus, we could do the same to China's assets in the US. The US government has few, if any, assets in Venezuela.
Looking at the legacy of American intervention in South America this looks like history repeating itself. When has the US ever supported a democratically elected head of state who would challenge the US? Why do people who mistrust Trump and Bolton in every aspect think this is the one area where they are right?
11
Assassination of foreign leaders may have been outlawed in this country decades ago, but this is nothing short of a financial coup d'état. Chalk up yet another grave international blunder to the U.S.
13
It is simply irresponsible to use the term "muscular" to describe Trump administration policy anywhere. The sentence ending "the United States could impose an oil embargo and also hinted at other muscular policy tools it might use against Mr. Maduro" should read "the United States could impose an oil embargo and also hinted at other aggressive policy tools it might use to interfere in Venezuela." "Muscular" should never be linked to the name "Trump." Never.
7
Is this an example of the widespread Republican stance (lots of Democrats too) that we shouldn't be interfering in the affairs of other countries? Someone convince me that we would care at all about what's happening in Venezuela if they didn't have so much OIL.
Why aren't we talking about transitioning to renewable energy as a matter of national security? Why isn't that at the top of the America First agenda? I don't feel safe. Isn't Trump supposed to be making me feel safe again?
43
@Isolationist, unless you have oil
Venezuela's oil is heavy crude, difficult and more costly to extract (pump out of the earth), and rife with more contaminants, therefore much more difficult to refine. There are few refineries equipped to deal with it. It's not the light, sweet crude the oil barons covet.
7
We need to be concerned about Venezuela because they are on our same continent. The US should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. We gave plenty of government officials in the different departments that address different areas of concern, national and international.
We are already seeing a large influx of asylum applicants from Venezuela.
3
@Barbara Vilaseca This administration so far has shown no concern for the other countries on this continent. Colombia has already taken in 1 million Venezuelans. Are we ready to do the same when our sanctions completely impoverish this country?
6