A U.S. Attack on Maduro's Venezuela Would Be a Mistake

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A U.S. Attack on Maduro's Venezuela Would Be a Mistake

Iraq didn't end well and neither will an attempt to remove Maduro by force.

by Ted Galen Carpenter 

September 9, 2018

Extreme hawks in the United States apparently have not had their fill of wasting American lives and tax dollars in futile military adventures throughout the Middle East and Central Asia. Increasingly, they are making noises about launching a regime-change war much closer to home—in Venezuela. The latest proponent of that option is neoconservative Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL). Rubio appears poised to succeed the late Senator John McCain as South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham’s partner in being the most prominent and visible GOP spokesmen for an ultra-hawkish foreign policy. 

During an interview on Univision’s Miami affiliate in late August, Rubio stated that the security threat Venezuela’s leftist government now posed made it necessary to consider U.S. military action. “For months and years, I wanted the solution in Venezuela to be a non-military and peaceful solution, simply to restore democracy,”  Rubio said . “I believe that the Armed Forces of the United States are only used in the event of a threat to national security. I believe that there is a very strong argument that can be made at this time that Venezuela and the Maduro regime has become a threat to the region and even to the United States.” He added: “Every day it gets worse and worse, right here in our own hemisphere.” Rubio accused the Venezuelan regime of “sponsoring and protecting narco-traffickers,” as well as flooding neighboring countries with “people seeking refuge from Venezuela.”
 
Unfortunately, Rubio is not alone in flirting with a military solution and arguing that Venezuela poses a security threat. President Trump seems inclined to embrace a similar view. Credible news reports that surfaced in July of this year that Trump told aides in August 2017 to prepare a contingency plan for U.S. military intervention in Venezuela. The president indicated  considerable interest  in that option. His security advisers reportedly pushed back, arguing that resorting to military force would have significant adverse repercussions throughout the hemisphere. Despite such resistance, it is highly probable that U.S. military leaders have such a contingency plan in place if the economic and political situation in Venezuela continues to deteriorate.

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https://nationalinterest.org/feature/us-attack-maduros-venezuela-would-be-mistake-30812