Jason Mitchell

The flaw in Donald Trump’s plan to oust Nicolás Maduro

Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Juan Guaidó, the Venezuelan opposition leader, as the rightful head of state will have little impact unless the country’s top military brass turns against the socialist dictator, Nicolás Maduro. Sadly, they show little sign of doing that.

Guaidó – aged 35 and president of the country’s opposition-controlled National Assembly – had himself sworn in as head of state on Wednesday. Trump formally recognised him minutes later; this was followed in quick succession by Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Panama. Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, joined these calls, saying “the United Kingdom believes Juan Guaidó is the right person to take Venezuela forward.” The EU is calling for new elections but its member states have not yet recognised Guaidó.

Predictably, Russia, Turkey, China, Syria, Bolivia and Cuba lined up behind Maduro. Russian president, Vladimir Putin, called him and insisted that the latest crisis was ‘provoked from abroad’. Jeremy Corbyn – who congratulated Maduro on his 2014 election victory, and was a big fan of his predecessor, the socialist firebrand Hugo Chávez – has refused to condemn Maduro’s assault on Venezuelan democracy and the dramatic impoverishment of the people since he took the reins of power in 2013. Instead, this week Corbyn hosted a group of Latin American diplomats in Parliament, thought to include the Venezuelan Rocío Del Valle Maneiro González. The Labour leader said the roundtable was designed to ‘exchange ideas on a future relationship’ between a Labour government and Latin American countries ‘based on mutual respect and human rights’.With the Labour leader staying quiet on the subject of Venezuela, a party spokesman stepped in to say:

‘We oppose outside interference in Venezuela, whether from the US or anywhere else: the future of Venezuela is a matter for Venezuelans. There needs to be a peaceful dialogue and a negotiated settlement to overcome the crisis in Venezuela.”

But the problem is that members of the Venezuelan opposition – mediated by former Spanish PM José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and the Vatican – have made numerous attempts to have a dialogue with the Maduro regime but the latter has never done so in good faith.

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