Millions of Americans woke up with the same question on the first Saturday of a new year: Are we at war with Venezuela?
President Donald Trump’s ouster of President Nicolás Maduro has stunning implications for Venezuela, American global power, and the shattered remnants of constitutional curbs on US presidents and international law.
The ostensible justification is that Maduro was the pinnacle of a cartel state that threatens America’s security and the well-being of its citizens with narcotics trafficking. But Trump’s claims overplay Venezuela’s role, and his transparent relish at wielding a big stick in his geopolitical backyard highlights more ambitious motives.
Few of Venezuela’s repressed citizens will lament the removal of a dictator who wrecked lives and ruined economic opportunity.
But the swoop against Maduro was a stunner, and not just because the overthrow of a foreign leader is considered an act of war.
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