Washington D.C. — President Trump’s declaration that the United States is going to “run” Venezuela and take over its oil industry marks an extraordinary reversal for a president who campaigned on ending wars. This is exactly the kind of mission the American people have wisely rejected since the invasion of Iraq. The President will own what follows, including the potential for instability and violence.
Nicolás Maduro is a dictator who has brought Venezuela to ruin. He maintained his grip on power despite the Venezuelan people voting him out of office. Maduro presided over repression, economic collapse, and mass displacement of the Venezuelan people. If this operation leads to a swift, peaceful transition to the Venezuelan opposition, led by Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez, who was elected overwhelmingly in 2024, the Venezuelan people will be better off.
However, wars of regime change have a long history of disaster. The Trump administration launched its war without informing or seeking approval from Congress, and without apparent planning for what comes next. Its primary focus appears to be seizing the country’s oil. This action risks replacing one authoritarian ruler with another, and plunging Venezuela into escalating instability and violence. It now carries the potential to be an Iraq in our own hemisphere.
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