The Case for Force in Venezuela
The Case for Force in Venezuela - WSJ
How to back the regime’s opponents without sending in the Marines.
By Mary Anastasia O’Grady - June 2, 2019
Despite extreme repression under the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro, the case for a U.S. military invasion of Venezuela remains unconvincing. Yet the case for the use of force by Venezuelans—with organizational and intelligence support from the U.S. and regional allies—has never been stronger.
Venezuela is occupied by Cuba and Russia and by Iranian proxies. China is also a Maduro ally though it relies on commercial relations to sink its claws into the country. These imperialists may not share a common vision. But they have a common interest, which is to redraw the geopolitical map of the Western Hemisphere to minimize U.S. influence.
The occupiers have no incentive to back off. A complex web of Venezuelan criminals help them do their dirty work, and they face no imminent threat to their dominance over the population.
The Trump administration has sought a nonviolent resolution. It has imposed sanctions and offered Venezuelan military commanders generous packages to jump sides.
But Havana, Moscow and Tehran—along with Chinese credit—offer the thugs running the country something better: the status quo. As long as they have the guns and what’s left of the butter, they have no reason to care about Venezuelans who starve or flee.
This Maduro “mafia”—as Adm. Craig Faller, head of the U.S. Southern Command, has referred to the regime in Caracas—will need to be forcibly removed. Venezuela’s democratic institutions will need to be rebuilt. Both those tasks belong to Venezuelans. Only they can secure their own democracy.
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