Welcome the U.S. drug trafficking indictments issued against Nicolas Maduro on Thursday. While greater constriction of Venezuelan oil exports will ultimately be necessary to remove the illegitimate president, this step clarifies that the Trump administration will not seek a compromise that allows Maduro to remain in power.
That’s a good thing. Maduro is responsible for turning the world’s oil-richest nation into a land of starving children and endemic corruption. Maduro’s centralization of power in the hands of his cronies and senior military figures has ensured massive inefficiency in state industries (a hallmark of socialism) and such a terrible decline in living standards that millions of Venezuelans have had to abandon their homeland. This is a true human tragedy.
To that end, these indictments are designed to put more pressure on Venezuelan military figures to abandon Maduro and put the legitimate interim president, Juan Guaido, in power. Maduro has been steadily escalating against Guaido this year, so increased questions were being asked as to how resolute the Trump administration was in its support for the interim president. These indictments confidently answer those questions.
On that note, it is also important that the indictments do not focus on active uniform military officers who are heavily involved in the drug trade. The intended U.S. implication in turning a blind eye to these officers is that generals who now abandon Maduro can hope to avoid future U.S. criminal sanctions.
Against Maduro at least, the indictments are scathing in their detail.
They document Maduro’s longstanding role in facilitating cocaine trafficking to the United States. They assert that he and other senior officials in his government have worked closely with the Colombian FARC terrorist group to enrich themselves at the expense of regional stability and human rights. And the indictments show that for all Maduro’s ridiculous rhetoric, he is ultimately just a drug lord who has used power to fatten his belly as his people suffer around him.
But these indictments alone will not remove Maduro from power. More U.S. action will be needed if the generals are to decide to move against the pretender president. That means the U.S. should take decisive action, as requested by Guaido, to prevent Maduro’s oil supplies from reaching Cuba. If Cuba is forced to abandon Maduro, his ability to intimidate and consolidate the military into his continued support will collapse.
Still, these indictments are, in and of themselves, good news. They clarify America’s position on Venezuela in a way that best serves our national interests and theirs. And their top line is clear: Maduro must go.
