Three years ago, Washington was hailing Venezuela’s opposition leader, Juan Guaidó. He was the most celebrated exiled leader since France’s Charles de Gaulle. President Trump even invited Guaidó as his guest of honor at the 2020 State of the Union Address.
US Abandons Venezuela’s Opposition Leader Guaidó
I was neither impressed nor encouraged. The title alone to my blog post on Washington’s support for Guaidó explains why:
- Trump’s SOTU Address: Comforting Fools, Notably Venezuela’s Guaidó
That’s because Guaidó seemed destined to end up like Morgan Tsvangirai. I even drew foreboding analogies between these two leaders without a country. I cite in this regard, “Cry for Venezuela.”
That’s why this came as no surprise:
The Venezuelan embassy in Washington, DC, that was run by the opposition has suspended its operations, it announced in a press release Friday, following Juan Guaidó’s ouster as opposition leader. …
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement this week that the US ‘continues to recognize the democratically elected 2015 National Assembly as the last remaining democratic institution in Venezuela, and we welcome the agreement reached to extend its authority.’ That statement did not make any mention of Guaidó.
(CNN, January 6, 2023)
Biden lifting sanctions was writing on the wall for Venezuelans and Iranians
President Biden began easing sanctions on Venezuela last November. He did so to increase global oil production to offset sanctions on the export of Russian oil.
Of course, the US imposed those sanctions on Venezuela to support Guaidó’s protesters. So easing them telegraphed his fate. But his own comrades did the same when they began abandoning him.
That’s why Iranians should beware. They are risking their lives protesting against the Ayatollah’s regime. And many are basing their protests on promises of US support. But I cautioned them against doing so.
Because the US is promising the same support it promised Syrians and Venezuelans. Yet Bashir al-Assad and Nicolas Maduro squashed democratic protesters, respectively. This, while the US stood by.
And it seems bound to stand by as the Ayatollah does the same. That’s precisely how things are playing out in Iran today.
Iran drew international condemnation on Saturday after it executed two men for killing a paramilitary force member in November during protests sparked by the death in custody of a young woman.
The latest killings double the number executed so far in connection with the nationwide protests. Two men were put to death in December, sparking global outrage.
(The Guardian, January 7, 2023)
Enough said?
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