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It‘s high time for regime change in Venezuela

I think it’s time to call it. The President of the United States is apparently finally prepared to topple the Bolivarian regime of Venezuela, if need be with military force.

All diplomatic contact between Caracas and Washington via Special Envoy Richard Grenell has been broken off. Overwhelming naval, air and Marine Corps assets have been moved to the Caribbean theater to execute targeted raids in order to kill or capture the political and military elite of Venezuela, thereby destabilizing the regime to make way for a democratic renewal in a country that was once one of the most robust democracies in South America.

The administration rightly considers Nicolas Maduro an illegitimate President who illegally usurped power by flatly ignoring the results of his decisive electoral defeat last year. They are also correct in their assessment of his notorious criminal activities. He is indeed a fugitive from justice and his imprisonment will not just be a political and economic liberation for about 30 million Venezuelans at home or living abroad, but an overdue relief for the many victims of Venezuelan narco-crime all over the world. Accordingly, the designation of Maduro‘s Cartel de Soles as a FTO along with the administration‘s de facto declaration of war on narco-terrorists in Venezuela create the legal framework for a drastic and rapid military intervention.

The Venezuelan state, if one can call it that, is nothing but a house of cards. It comes closer to a syndicate than to an actual state. Impunity is all that keeps it from collapsing. Unfortunately, the Venezuelan civilians who are desperately waiting for a dramatic change haven’t been able to mount an armed resistance to counter the repression of a ruthless military, a cruel police force and violent armed gangs allied with the regime.
Opposition forces weren’t armed or trained by any outside power, hence they never stood much of a chance to free themselves from the anachronistic and autocratic joch that keeps them from realizing their human potential and flagrantly violates their most basic human rights and civil liberties.
The $50 million USD bounty on Maduro‘s head is now twice the amount that was promised for the capture of UBL. It‘s time for Maduro to be brought to justice in the United States for the narco-terrorism that he has tolerated, authorized, facilitated and in some cases engineered.

There‘s no place in this world for despots who turn once vibrant liberal western democracies into tyrannies, who impoverish once wealthy economies, who strike bargains with the global enemies of the free world to safeguard their hold on power at the expense of their own people or who compensate for their political and economic mismanagement by building a state-sponsored narcotics empire through which a quarter of the world‘s annual cocaine supply is now funneled.
There’s no place for a man who has unleashed an unprecedented refugee crisis on the entire Western Hemisphere, which led to the emigration of 7 million Venezuelans who had to leave their home since this needless, man-made crisis began to engulf their country.

The people of Venezuela rose up. They rallied behind the opposition, behind Juan Guaidó, behind María Corina Machado and behind President-elect Edmundo González. They voted for them despite fraud, manipulation and voter intimidation. They went on to protest the actions of the regime, peacefully, without arms repeatedly and for months despite the well-known terror and torture practices of the regime.
Yet, neither their civil courage as free citizens of the Republic nor the diplomatic isolation, the international criticism, the targeted and sectoral sanctions, nor President Biden‘s offer to exchange sanctions relief for free elections followed by a democratic transition were enough to rid the world of this man and his loyal coterie of conspirators.

The time for decisive military action has come. If the US and Venezuela‘s neighbors are not willing or able to train, arm, organize and fund an insurgency to bring this regime to its knees, the responsibility for removing it falls on the shoulders of highly trained, highly capable and highly equipped Marines, airmen, sailors and special forces of the US military who will be able to neutralize any hostile regime target inside Venezuela within mere days.

Once this surgical operation is concluded, the responsibility for a new era of hope in Venezuela will pass on to the millions of Venezuelans who can’t wait to close this perverse Marxist chapter of their nation‘s proud history.
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samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
Since when is the US expected to be the police of the world? I have heard so many argue against globalization, now you want the US to attack a sovereign nation? Really?
CedricH · 22-25, M
@samueltyler2 Since 1945 if you insist on a specific date, or to put it more vaguely, since the US became powerful enough and willing to be the guarantor of an American-led world order.
I don’t care much about the critics of globalization since the process of forging greater global interdependencies and integration is obviously highly beneficial to mankind.
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@CedricH sorry, your response is dangling without a resolution. Do you believe the US should play policeman for the world? It is okay, it is your opinion. If so, who does the initial investigation as to when and where the police should be become involved?
CedricH · 22-25, M
@samueltyler2 My response was a precise answer to your first question.
To answer your second question, which you‘ve just submitted, yes I do believe the US ought to act as a global benevolent hegemon and enforce Pax Americana wherever it’s propitious. As for who‘s to decide when, where and how the US is to act, that task falls to the commander-in-chief, naturally. He‘s vested with the power to command the US military and to direct foreign policy.
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@CedricH

Maybe you believe that 1945 we entered into a defacto role of police for the world. You are entitled to that position.

so, if i interpret your comment, POTUS is prosecutor, judge and can pass judgement including the use of lethal force, solely on his own?
CedricH · 22-25, M
@samueltyler2 Yes. I do. Albeit empowered and constrained by the American people and the US constitution. For any prolonged war, steady funding will require implicit Congressional support which is certainly appropriate.
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@CedricH spoken as a loyal German citizen.
CedricH · 22-25, M
@samueltyler2 I‘m loyal to my country, an ally of the United States, but more importantly, I‘m loyal to the cause of freedom around the world. Liberty needs more than an advocate or a beacon, at times, it needs a scrupulous enforcer.
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@CedricH so you propose a "first strike" option.
CedricH · 22-25, M
@samueltyler2 That depends on your definition of the word strike. Venezuela‘s systemic role in trafficking narcotics to the US can be interpreted as an aggressive hostile act in which case a military response wouldn’t be a first strike. But yes, as a general matter, I do believe in the preventive use of force.
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@CedricH wow, show me ANY evidence that Venezuela has had a systemic role in trafficking narcotics to the US! What is your definition of a narcotic anyway?.
CedricH · 22-25, M
@samueltyler2
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-announces-narco-terrorism-charges-against-nicolas-maduro-current
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@CedricH did you read what you sent? How is that proof? It is an announcement related to a pronouncement by the discredited Attorney General, William Barr, acting on behalf of his master, Donald Trump. You never chose to answer, what is your definition of a narcotic?
CedricH · 22-25, M
@samueltyler2 The evidence you were asking for are part included in the charges.
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@CedricH BS, the charge lists generalities, and show no evidence of any direct connection between Venezuela and the US drug abuse problem.