Rebuke Russian Meddling in Venezuela

Venezuela ’s political turmoil escalated this week when opposition leader Juan Guaido, the head of the National Assembly, declared himself acting president, displacing Nicolas Maduro.  The United Statesimmediately recognized Guaido as the country ’s interim president, as did Canada and numerous other countries in the Western Hemisphere.  Maduro responded byexpelling U.S. diplomats and accusing Washington of sponsoring a coup.  Most of the Venezuelan military appears loyal to Maduro, and the country now teeters on the brink of civil war.It is hard to have the slightest sympathy for Maduro.   He and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, have made Venezuela into aleft-wing horror show.   Wholesale economic collapse has been accompanied by mounting authoritarian political rule.  Even though Maduro supposedly won re-election in the May 2018 presidential election, the balloting was considered throughout the international community as atextbook example of massive fraud.   Venezuela gradually has gone from being a socialist, illiberal democracy to a thinly disguised dictatorship. Today’s Venezuela is no more a genuine democracy than is Putin’s Russia or Erdogan’s Turkey.Nevertheless, U.S. policy is skating close to the line of improper behavior.   A decision to extend diplomatic recognition should be based on one consideration: whether that government effectively controls most of the country.  It is not clear at this point what control Guaido and his followers exercise.  ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs