By Bobby Miller
Friday, January 06, 2023
In Venezuela, U.S.-backed “interim president” Juan Guaidó has been removed amid squabbling inside the country’s beleaguered opposition coalition. Three exiled former lawmakers, Dinorah Figueroa, Marianela Fernández, and Auristela Vásquez, have been chosen to take Guaidó’s place in leading the symbolic shadow opposition to socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro.
The Biden administration has undercut Guaidó’s legitimacy at every turn. His administration has warmed to the Maduro regime even as it continued to trounce Venezuelans’ civil liberties and threaten our national security — all for access to the country’s oil as the U.S. copes with the shortfall due to the war in Ukraine and the administration’s own decision to limit domestic production.
The State Department says the U.S. still recognizes Venezuela’s opposition National Assembly as that nation’s “last remaining democratic institution,” without clarifying whether it still recognizes Guaidó (or the three exiled lawmakers) as interim president. Meanwhile, this week’s changes in Biden administration immigration policy will make it easier to expel Venezuelan asylum-seekers. The administration seems to be having trouble differentiating between our friends and foes.
No comments:
Post a Comment