The Pnyx: Don’t Intervene in Venezuela

Joshua Schuetz
Staff Writer

The crisis in Venezuela, wherein an opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, declared himself president of the country, accusing the current president, Nicolas Maduro, of being a despot and an illegitimate leader. 

Venezuela’s economy has been in crisis for some time, thanks to hyperinflation, food shortages, and skyrocketing crime rates, all of which have been worsened by its government’s policies.

Guaidó has some backing from the United States, while Maduro is looking for backing from Russia, amongst other countries. Recently, there have been indications from the Trump administration that military intervention in Venezuela is under consideration.

That would be a catastrophic mistake. The last thing America needs is another drawn out proxy war. We’re already embroiled in a situation of that nature in the Middle East, and it hasn’t been a picnic, to put it nicely.

It is true that Maduro’s regime is corrupt and despotic. So are the governments of many other countries with which the U.S. has diplomatic relations. That is no reason to invade a country. And besides, how are we to know that the next leader wouldn’t be just as corrupt?

Enough. Far too many lives have been lost in the name of “democracy promotion”, “regime change”, and “nation building.” Military intervention in Venezuela would be no more fruitful than it has been in Vietnam and Iraq. American voters have learned that lesson. It is time that the foreign policy establishment did as well.