Posted on 06/06/2018 6:36:43 AM PDT by Red Badger
Now that Venezuelan autocrat Nicolás Maduro has engineered his re-election in what reasonable observers have decried as a sham vote, it’s impossible to say how long he will remain in office. But the United States and its allies should lay the groundwork for the remaining portions of the Venezuelan government not beholden to Maduro to take the choice out of his hands.
Nearly two decades of creeping authoritarianism and large-scale economic mismanagement have taken a staggering toll on Venezuelans. Moreover, with reports of low voter turnout in an otherwise stage-managed electoral process and rising military dissension, clearly the Maduro regime is “taking on water,” as Juan Cruz, the National Security Council’s senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs, said in May at a panel discussion hosted by the Council of the Americas.
But if time is running out, it’s less clear exactly for whom: the Maduro regime or those struggling for a restoration of democracy in that benighted country? After all, Cuba — which serves as Maduro’s ideological mentor — has demonstrated that a strategy of forcing out the discontented and subjugating the rest, while muddling along with a dysfunctional economy, can sustain an authoritarian regime for decades.
The question thus becomes, as the New York Times editorial board wrote, “how to get rid of Mr. Maduro before he completes the destruction of his country.”
First, we should recognize that dialogue or diplomacy cannot bring a resolution to the Venezuela crisis. By now, it’s evident that the Maduro regime has no intention of negotiating itself out of power and only sees such opportunities as maneuvers to buy time.
(Excerpt) Read more at foreignpolicy.com ...
If the folks at FP are calling for one, then there will be one.................soon.............
When there is no longer enough food for the troops, then it may happen. They’re the ones with the guns.
We need to build the wall. Now more than ever. Massive influx of war refugees coming.
Let’s not send the FBI. I know they have some experience in this area, but I think they should stay out of it.
Yay, another nation-building opportunity for our deep state to completely bumble. I’m practically trembling with excitement. /sarc
Yep. I don’t want the US government involved in laying any groundwork for a coup. Let the Venezuelans handle things all by themselves and make sure foreign governments also keep their hands off.
Just build the wall and let them sort it out.
This has to be like one of those wildlife videos where the camera people have to not interfere with nature being really mean to cuddly little animals.
VZ may undergo change, but they and their nearest neighbors will have to figure it out on their own. Starting with the realization that socialism is an overflowing outhouse.
Are you speaking Counter-Revolution, Comrade?
Venezuela was once one of the wealthiest countries in South America................
All out civil war may be necessary to expel the socialist’s................
The key word being “was.” There are number of Latin American countries that WERE wealthy, until socialism took root.
If there is going to be some shooting in Venezuela, then let’s send all of our American professors down there to monitor things.
Where is antifa when you need them? Oh wait, they love totalitarian governments...never mind.
The Venezuelans voted overwhelmingly for Hugo Chaves and his brand of socialism.
Now let them stew in the mess they created. Do not let a single one of them enter the USA.
Whats the point? Latinos want socialism. They will not rest until the entire hemisphere is a crime ridden sewer pit
Personally, I think there should be a coup in California.
Neocons...man your row boats!
That coup should have happened 4 ++ years ago.
By the time they MIGHT pull one off, there will be little left to salvage.
Please, God, do not let us get dragged into the mess the Venezuelans have made of their beautiful country.
When the system completely collapses, the system will be fixed.................
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