After removing Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, the Trump administration could have tried to install Edmundo González, the exiled opposition leader who actually won the most recent Venezuelan election (out of which he was defrauded by Venezuela’s Marxist government). Or, it could have tried to install the popular leader of González’s party, María Corina Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize. But it hasn’t done so, for the oddest of reasons, reports The Washington Post:
The day before, Trump had effectively dismissed the prospects of Venezuela’s democratic opposition, including Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, whose stand-in candidate, Edmundo González, won more than two-thirds of the vote in an election last year that saw Maduro refuse to leave office….
Two people close to the White House said the president’s lack of interest in boosting Machado, despite her recent efforts to flatter Trump, stemmed from her decision to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, an award the president has openly coveted.
Although Machado ultimately said she was dedicating the award to Trump, her acceptance of the prize was an “ultimate sin,” said one of the people.
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” this person said.
As a practical matter, the Trump administration may have lacked the ability to install the pro-democracy leaders (like Machado and González) as Venezuela’s leader, because Venezuela’s security apparatus has lined up behind Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez. That’s true even though the democratically-elected González is Venezuela’s rightful president, having been overwhelmingly elected in the 2024 election, and is internationally recognized by many countries as Venezuela’s president. And even though Machado is the logical successor of the exiled González.
But that’s no excuse for having such a stupid and spiteful rationale for dismissing Machado and González as Maduro’s successor. Such spiteful behavior makes America look stupid, and may reduce the likelihood that the opposition will be able to push out Venezuela’s oppressive Marxist regime.
In The New York Times, Nicholas Kristoff wonders whether the removal of Maduro will do much to improve life in Venezuela, given that the Marxists appear to remain in control of Venezuela:
True, Maduro was a disaster for Venezuela and for the entire region, with nearly eight million refugees fleeing the country. Yes, he appears to have stolen the 2024 election.
But….it’s not at all clear that the regime itself will be toppled or that life will improve for ordinary Venezuelans.,,,
Trump could have tried to provide a legal justification for the incursion by saying that he had the permission of Venezuela’s rightful president, Edmundo González, the apparent winner of the 2024 election. The United States even under President Joe Biden recognized González as Venezuela’s true president-elect, so that might have been a useful fig leaf for lawyers to work with. But Trump has been dismissive of the democratic forces represented by González and María Corina Machado, the opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner….
The military and intelligence side of the Venezuela operation was masterful, but the legal and political sides seem frightful, and that bodes poorly for the country’s future.
Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, remains in place, and is acting as president. Trump aides seem to think they can control Venezuela through her, but for now, Rodriguez does not seem eager to be their poodle….It’s true that Rodríguez has been more pragmatic in her career and more attuned to the public’s well-being than Maduro was (a low bar), but in any case, it’s not clear how much autonomy she has to make decisions. Venezuela is run by a clutch of top security officials backed by Cuban gunmen, and it’s not obvious why they would choose to surrender power.
