AMB GORDON SONDLAND: Trump showed strength in Venezuela — now finish the job |
‘Fox News @ Night’ panelists discuss the capture of Nicolas Maduro and the global implications of his arrest.
The United States finally did what needed to be done in Venezuela: it ended the Maduro nightmare. Credit where it is due — this required courage, clarity and decisive leadership, and President Trump proved willing to act when others hesitated for years.
Leaving Maduro in place would not only have condemned millions more Venezuelans to hunger, repression and exile — it also would have handed Russia, China and Iran a permanent beachhead in our own hemisphere and privileged access to the world’s largest oil reserves. Ousting Maduro wasn’t reckless interventionism. It was the only responsible move to protect American interests, stabilize the region and prevent our adversaries from turning Venezuela into an energy-rich outpost of anti-U.S. power.
That reality has been clear for years. Venezuela under Maduro was never merely a mismanaged country; it was a criminal authoritarian state, lashed together by narco-traffickers, Cuban intelligence handlers, corrupt generals and ideological militants.
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Meanwhile, Russia and China were not passively observing. They were entrenching themselves in the very arteries of Venezuela’s economy. Beijing served as banker, oil lifeline and sanctions-evader-in-chief, while Moscow embedded itself deeply in Venezuela’s energy, military and security structures.
Together, they weren’t rescuing Venezuela. They were converting it into a strategic extension of their global challenge to the United States — a forward base with oil.
If we do not anchor Venezuela securely to a stable Western orientation, our adversaries will — and they will do it with steel, hardware, advisers, and leverage, not speeches.
Had the United States stood aside, the consequences would have gone far beyond human suffering. Russia and China would have secured long-term........