Sara Varela
Editor-in-chief
With Trump’s tough talk on North Korea, Americans feel they will be soon fighting another war. But there’s yet another country in Trump’s mind where military intervention, not necessarily war, may be applicable.
And while the media is focused on the America-North Korea front, Vice President Pence is touring Latin America to talk about that particular country: Venezuela.
Pence has taken on the task of informing the continent’s leaders of the imminent military action the U.S. will take on Maduro’s regime. Obviously, they aren’t saying so upfront but it’s safe to assume that the decision of using military force to remove Maduro and friends has already been taken.
And while some may not understand what interests the U.S. has in overthrowing the Maduro regime, let me tell you that there are many crucial factors that come into play.
As Pence himself has admitted during this South American tour, a “failed state in Venezuela will endanger the security, prosperity, and well-being of all who call the Western Hemisphere home.”
What he means is that a country that has allowed, for over a decade, terrorists from groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas in its soil and that has also given them Venezuelan passports represents a threat to the national security of the U.S.
We can also add the fact that Maduro’s close relationship to Russia and China, and even North Korea, is also a threat to the U.S.
Additionally, Venezuela’s crisis is contributing to hundreds of thousands fleeing the torn country, which translates into neighboring countries overwhelmed by Venezuelans in need of shelter.
Luckily for Venezuelans, Colombia, Argentina and Peru have opened their doors to those escaping offering free education and health care, among others, to Venezuelans.
There’s no denying that Venezuela is an imminent danger to the safety and national security of the U.S. and as such, it becomes a priority in Trump’s foreign policy.
Many in Venezuela, including the traitors within the opposition, would argue, senselessly, that a military “intervention” is Trump overstepping boundaries. However, it isn’t the case at all.
Adding to what was explained above, Venezuela isn’t only abiding terrorists, but it’s run by drug dealers. The infamous Cartel de los Soles is run by the highest-ranking members of the Armed Forces and the regime. Diosdado Cabello, one of the highest members of the regime, is the boss of the cartel.
Venezuela’s Vice President Tareck El-Aissami is wanted by the U.S. for drug trafficking.
Venezuela has become the central point of drug trafficking in the continent, allowing drugs from South America to make its way to America, Africa and Europe.
But what can be the crucial factor of this issue is the fact that a failed state in Venezuela with a regime that’s friends with North Korea is bad news for the U.S. in the face of the eventual U.S.-North Korea conflict.
The U.S. military action in Venezuela isn’t only understandable, but a smart move and, more importantly, necessary not only for the U.S. but for the Venezuelan people.
It’s smart because they would be solving several problems that affect them: drug trafficking, national security and terrorism.
And lastly, it’s necessary because the Venezuelan people are suffering and, without international help, there’s no end to our suffering in the near future.
Should the Maduro regime continue in power, approximately 80 percent of the population will live in poverty, more and more people will continue to die due to the lack of medicines and food, and the country, which was once the richest in the continent and synonymous for prosperity and progress, will become a failed state.
To my fellow Venezuelans I would say that if they are scared of such actions coming from the U.S. then we should think of Panama and Cuba and which direction we would like our country to go to.
The U.S. intervention in Panama to take out Noriega determined that country’s future. It helped Panama become what it is today: a prosperous country with state-of-the-art infrastructure.
While Cuba, where the Castros have ruled for the past five decades, is a country that is stuck in time. It’s a country where human rights are non-existing, where people own nothing without the State’s approval, where saying what you think means jail or death, where you have to flee risking your life to do so.
Trump has the future of the Venezuelan people in his hands, and I, for once, hope that he makes the right move.