Venezuelan quagmire

The Venezuelan people have suffered under the corrupt Maduro regime and U.S. sanctions. However, most of their citizens want true democracy, not a government beholden to American elite interests, including control of their oil. Regime change orchestrated by the bumbling U.S. government has an abysmal record, especially in Latin America. Vice President Pence’s nauseous quote about us “being with the people” of Latin America has never been true. Let our leaders say that about other abhorrent regimes that the U.S. supports, like Saudi Arabia.

The so-called humanitarian aid is a ruse, which has been rejected by the Red Cross and other legitimate international aid organizations as a political stunt. What is needed is international political pressure, coupled with negotiation led by the OAS and the Vatican. A U.S. military intervention, or even the promotion of a civil war, would be disastrous for the whole region. The “troika of tyranny” of Bolton, Abrams and Trump is as reprehensible as Maduro.

Chris Haralam

Spokane