From then on, bilateral relations have steadily deteriorated. Over the past 25 years there have been expulsions of ambassadors, the closure of diplomatic offices, and increasingly hostile rhetoric. This deterioration stems both from the United States\u2019 long interventionist history in Latin America and from the central role that anti-imperialism plays in the identity of the regional left, of which the Chavista movement is a part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, rejection of Washington is not merely a historical reaction; it also serves as a mobilizing tool for political projects that find it useful to create an external enemy\u2014someone to blame for their problems and around whom to rally their political base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this context, over the past two and a half decades, announcements of an imminent U.S. intervention in Venezuela have become routine. As in the fable of \u201cThe Boy Who Cried Wolf,\u201d the repetition has bred skepticism among the population: many doubt that the \u201cwolf\u201d will ever come. But this week, a New York Times<\/em> report about President Donald Trump\u2019s authorization for the CIA to operate inside Venezuelan territory once again set off alarms across the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just a few months ago, some journalists believed that a period of d\u00e9tente was taking shape in bilateral relations\u2014marked by the partial easing of oil sanctions and the repatriation of Venezuelan migrants. But as unpredictable as Trump\u2019s decisions can be, the situation has escalated dangerously. The White House has hardened its discourse, accused Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s regime of drug trafficking, and bombed vessels allegedly belonging to Venezuelan traffickers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is unclear. Beyond the rhetoric, it is difficult to identify any political gain for Trump in an operation of this kind: both U.S. public opinion and many of its allies are wary of new wars and foreign spending. In fact, the leak to The New York Times<\/em> could be a calculated maneuver to increase psychological pressure on Maduro\u2019s coalition\u2014similar to John Bolton\u2019s famous 2019 note \u201c5,000 troops to Colombia\u201d during the previous cycle of tensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A U.S. armed action would have deep consequences: it would unleash regional backlash and violate international law. Yet it also raises an uncomfortable question: how can the region condemn foreign intervention while remaining passive in the face of Venezuela\u2019s democratic collapse?<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is overwhelming evidence of the breakdown of Venezuela\u2019s constitutional order. Human rights violations\u2014including disappearances, torture, and sexual violence\u2014have been extensively documented by reputable NGOs and by the United Nations itself. Moreover, Venezuela is the first country in the region under investigation by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the United States were to carry out a unilateral military action, regional representatives would legitimately raise their voices about the pressures such a move could cause along their borders. However, many of these same actors have been far less vigorous in criticizing the predatory economic policies that Maduro has implemented to stay in power\u2014policies that have caused the massive Venezuelan migration that continues to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many leaders will rightly denounce the violation of national sovereignty. But they have said very little about the sovereignty violations committed by the Venezuelan government itself\u2014such as the assassination of Lieutenant Ojeda in Chile or the kidnapping of opposition figures on Colombian soil. Just a few days ago, two Venezuelan activists exiled in Bogot\u00e1 were shot. These incidents have received barely any media coverage, and Colombia\u2019s own president has been more discreet about them than about other international issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The paradox is clear: Latin America rejects interference, yet rarely acts against the authoritarian regimes that arise within its own borders\u2014even though it has pledged to do so in documents such as the OAS Democratic Charter, which \u201crecognizes that representative democracy is indispensable for the stability, peace, and development of the region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best way to prevent both internal and external violence in the region is to resume a strong and effective agenda in defense of democracy. To paraphrase a famous quote from former Venezuelan president Rafael Caldera: \u201cIt is difficult to ask a people to sacrifice themselves for sovereignty when they feel that this sovereignty neither feeds them nor guarantees respect for their lives.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Latin America faces its own contradiction: it condemns external interference in Venezuela, yet remains silent in the face of authoritarianism and the democratic crisis within the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":468,"featured_media":52917,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16868,16812],"tags":[15635],"gps":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-52962","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-relaiciones-internacionales-en","8":"category-venezuela-en","9":"tag-debates"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52962"},{"taxonomy":"gps","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gps?post=52962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IN-THE-FACE-OF-DEMOCRACYS-CRISIS-5.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nCould an actual military intervention occur?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n