The unilateral action by President Trump to attack Venezuela is an illegal act without any Congressional Authority. Even now, Congress must pass legislation to confirm that they support such an action.
The idea of removing Maduro from Venezuela may be compelling but it still remains an illegal action.
Beyond the legality, it opens the doors for every other country to control their neighboring countries just as is happening with Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Now this is an open invitation to China to change their live fire exercises around Taiwan to an armed overthrow of the Taiwanese government
Our past adventures have shown that even when we remove a despot leader from position, it ends badly. We have seen it in Iraq, in Afghanistan and Libya. There is no good example to follow in such actions.
The supposedly vast oil reserves of Venezuela cannot suddenly start producing more oil. Their infrastructure is 50 years old. It will take 5-10 years to increase oil production and in the meantime there is the possibility of bad outcomes. Among the possible bad outcomes are a surge in violence by the left-wing Colombian military group the ELN, which has a foothold in Venezuela’s western area, or by the paramilitary groups known as “colectivos” that have operated on the periphery of power under the Maduro dictatorship. Further unrest in Venezuela could unsettle global energy and food markets and drive more migrants throughout the hemisphere.
Let us hope that the Congress will have a full and open debate about all the issues involved and we will let Venezuelans handle their problems on their own.
Ash Marwah is a resident of the Village of Belvedere.