Posted on 05/12/2019 9:37:12 AM PDT by Kaslin
After self-declared interim President of Venezuela Juan Guaido failed in calling on his nation’s military to oust dictator Nicolas Maduro, the attempted revolt appeared to have been strangled in the cradle. Only a handful of military leaders came over to his side and the civilian protests in the major cities fizzled for the most part. Guaido himself still hasn’t been arrested, but his deputy and several other opposition party leaders in the National Assembly have been locked up. This week, Guaido seemed to be getting a bit more nervous and he sent out an even more emphatic “invitation” to the United States. This announcement is as close as he’s come to a direct plea for American troops to ride to the rescue and take Maduro into custody themselves. (Associated Press)
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó on Saturday said he’s instructed his political envoy in Washington to immediately open relations with the U.S. military in a bid to bring more pressure on President Nicolás Maduro to resign.
The leader said he’s asked Carlos Vecchio, who the U.S. recognizes as Venezuela’s ambassador, to open “direct communications” toward possible military “coordination.”
The remarks, at the end of a rally Saturday, mark one of his strongest public pleas yet for greater U.S. involvement in the country’s fast-escalating crisis. While Guaidó has repeatedly echoed comments from the Trump administration that “all options” are on the table for removing Maduro, few in the U.S. or Venezuelan opposition view military action as likely nor has the White House indicated it’s seriously considering such a move.
Guaido’s desire to have a military “coordination” plan is understandable, given his current position. He certainly holds the moral high ground and enjoys some broad support among the citizenry. There’s also a definite argument to be made that he is technically the interim president, though a more formal recognition process would have been helpful. But the fact is that without the support of the military in his own country, he lacks the ability to exert true control or rule the nation.
And that should remind us that what Guaido is looking for is not military “coordination” between our two countries. He’s asking for an invasion, but the military doesn’t answer to him and would not follow his directives. Meanwhile, Maduro has not only the military leadership in his corner but also the secret police, armed militia units, Russian special forces, and Cuban troops.
I would love to see Maduro gone as much as anyone else. The guy is a monster, growing fat off of the plundering of his nation’s coffers while his people literally starve in the streets. But if he’s to be removed, it needs to be done by Venezuelans, not a foreign invasion force. Even setting aside our country’s history of military misadventures in South America, this is obviously not a war we want or deserve. The presence of foreign military units in Venezuela complicates it even further.
We should stand ready to support Guaido if he is able to take power and perhaps even give Maduro a free lift to safety (as the President has suggested) if that helps ends the conflict peacefully. But sending a squadron of B-2s to conduct a midnight bombing run on Caracas would simply not end well and could very likely subject us to the law of unintended consequences.
“The most should do is supply THEM with the arms necessary to re-assert the consent of the governed”
How do you know the governed are not consenting?
Exactly! What many people don’t know is that Guiado is a socialist himself. It’s the equivalent of replacing Imanutjob in Iran with the current leader now.
The Russians built a factory to make AK’s in Venezuela for Chavez/Maduro.
They are propping up Maduro.
Did Guaido run for President? No. The fact that the legislatilure wants to install him, even though Madairo ran and won, almost sounds like Pelosi wanting to replace Trump with herself.
No matter how badly Venezuelans want Maduro out of there, and no matter how badly we want him out of there, if our fingerprints are on it, he will be a hero ten years from now and they will be erecting statues to him.
This has to be a Venezuelan operation, and has to be seen as a Venezuelan operation. If we have any involvement, it has to be completely in the shadows.
They have no problem putting 2 million people in the street. They need to have a friendly priest stand before the crowd, lead them in prayer, give them some semblance of “last rites”, and then they need to march on the palace. For Maduro’s soldiers to fire on the crowd or switch sides.
It would help to have a couple of flying squads to take out any of Maduro’s snipers. But Maduro isn’t leaving without bloodshed.
“Force” Maduro’s soldiers to fire on the crowd...
And Guaido needs to be at the front of the crowd, his own life at risk.
Agreed to an extent about the circus and monkeys; though the law of unintended consequences applies in non-action as well as action.
“an increase in sanctions against Russia”
Give me a break. Russia is a Christian noncommunust country that poses no threat to us. Russia’s Income tax - about 12 percent flat tax- is more than 60 percent lower than ours. I’d love to have that kind of “tyranny” imposed on me! I’d have lots more money to spend on my kids’ education
Meanwhile, in Islamist dictatorial Saudi Arabia, Christians are not free, and a single monarchy family rules with an iron fist and a head-chopping policy, but we have no sanctions on them.
More sanctions on Russia isn't goiung to do a damn thing. Sanctions on Cuba makes more sense.
But the bottom line is....this is a Civil war.
Drone, hell fire, no Maduro
Well, this is where CIA needs to airdrop crates of AK-47s into the people in the countryside. Then it’s up to them if they want to revolt.
Imagine Hillary or Biden begging China to invade us.
And they didn't show up at the last confrontation.
Embargo on Cuba will do the trick
The people of Saudi Arabia live under a more fearful dictatorship than Venezuala. In Venezuala you’re free to go to church. Not so in Saudi.
But Freepers are fixated on overthrowing Venezuala, with no comparable concerns about Saudis. I smell double standard
Guiado looks and sounds too much like Obama.
Interim president’s term expired in 90 days. He’s not president. It’s also not our problem.
Its a shame Gauido is failing in his attempt to get the country back but we need to keep troops out. If Maduro takes out Gauido it may inflame the population to revolt.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.