Attacks on vessels in Venezuelan seas have only one purpose: to create a narrative that legitimizes American military action
Only the most naive believe that the deadly American attacks on Venezuelan vessels, without being in self-defense, occur in the name of combating drugs. This doesn’t make any sense, since the is not among the largest exporters of drugs to the . Furthermore, with Chinese raw materials used for various purposes, including the manufacture of synthetic opioids.
That said, attacks on vessels in Venezuelan seas have only one purpose: to create a narrative that legitimizes American military action to overthrow the dictator.
The problem is that Trump possibly understood that the demonstration of American force in Venezuelan waters would be enough for Maduro to resign, which did not happen.
Now, Trump has a dilemma. If he goes ahead with a war, he will displease his MAGA base, and will likely lose the midterm elections. If this happens, Trump will have difficulty governing and will spend the next 2 years defending his mandate, including against impeachment requests filed by Democrats.
On the other hand, if the US president backs down, he will pick a fight with wings of the Democratic party and the pro-war neocons. Furthermore, the operation so far has been very costly financially. Therefore, going back will also be a waste of money that will be difficult for the American people to justify.
The best thing for Trump would be for Maduro to resign. Perhaps this was the price of repealing the Magnitsky Act: Lula would help convince Maduro to resign and offer the dictator asylum in Brazil.
*This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Jovem Pan.
