America’s Venezuelan sock puppet peters out

No country lusts for regime change more than America. Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya were accomplished…leading to utterly failed states. Syria was attempted in 2011 but ended in failure, merely prolonging the ghastly Syrian civil war for eight years and adding over a hundred thousand needless deaths had we not intervened. Iran is a work in progress with the chance of success zero and the chance of a catastrophic regional war much higher.

Then there is Venezuela, a US regime change project since socialist Hugo Chavez assumed power in 1999. There is too much oil wealth for US businesses to exploit to let socialists rule Venezuela. Chavez dodged all attempts at ouster, both foreign and domestic, till death removed him in 2013. Enter Vice President Nicolas Madura, whose crime to the US was continuation of Chavez’s socialist policies.

Six years on the US thought they’d found their savior in pro US Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself president one year ago after a disputed election. The US and 50 allies quickly recognized Guaido as Venezuela’s president. The dashing Kennedyesque Guaido was just what Uncle Sam dreamed of for return of US influence there. Only glitch was that elected president Maduro and the Venezuelan people kept outmaneuvering Guaido’s march to power. A year later his opposition social democratic Popular Will party, tired of his year long failure to assume power, has summarily dumped Guaido from party leadership. Popular Will Parliamentarian Jose Brito had this to say about America’s savior for Venezuela: “In 2019 … you were the hope of the country: today you are the biggest disappointment. You were a dream turned into a nightmare”.

Never fear Venezuelan regime change fans. Another decade, another American dream for regime change in Venezuela.