VENEZUELA: Capture of Maduro wrongly motivated

My first reaction to the capture of Maduro was a flash of pride that our forces could do this amid some anxiety as to whether we should do it. Then I listened to the President’s news conference. All became clear. This was not about helping a struggling neighbor. It was not about restoring or creating a democracy. It was not about drug trafficking. It was not about the people of Venezuela. It was about oil.

He dismissed the opposition leader as weak, lying about her support in her own country, ignoring her Nobel Peace prize. He said we would run the country for an undefined time (currently it is not even clear if we can, the situation on the ground is murky).  He threw out a few crumbs about safety and order, about Maduro as a indicted criminal. He spent a lot of time talking about oil.

CHERYL D. HALVERSON
Tensed