The coming weeks could be the period of greatest threat to Venezuela

By Franklin Frederick

Trump has not yet accepted electoral defeat, and his remaining days as U.S. presidency until Biden’s inauguration may represent the period of greatest threat of armed intervention in Venezuela, especially before December 6, the date of the country’s next legislative elections.

In addition to trying to judicially question the outcome of the elections – an increasingly remote possibility – Trump may decide, before Biden takes office, to try an armed invasion to oust the Venezuelan government of President Maduro in an attempt to bolster his standing within the U.S., including among Democratic Party members.

Hostility to the Venezuelan government is a bipartisan consensus in the U.S. It was former President Barack Obama who declared Venezuela a “threat” to the U.S. The rising star of the Democratic Party Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez characterized the Venezuelan government as “authoritarian” and “anti-democratic” – which led one of its supporters to send an open letter denouncing her position. This letter – which is worth reading – is here:https://medium.com/@stangoff/open-letter-to-rep-ocasio-cortez-on-venezuela-98169c5f7561

And both Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders supported the attempted coup in Venezuela in February 2019 under the guise of ‘humanitarian aid’. On that occasion, Bernie Sanders declared “The people of Venezuela are enduring a serious humanitarian crisis. The Maduro government must put the needs of its people first, allow humanitarian aid into the country, and refrain from violence against protesters.”

To this, Roger Waters – from Pink Floyd – replied through twitter:

Bernie, are you f-ing kidding me! if you buy the Trump, Bolton, Abrams, Rubio line, “humanitarian intervention” and collude in the destruction of Venezuela, you cannot be credible candidate for President of the USA. Or, maybe you can, maybe you’re the perfect stooge for the 1 %.

More on Sanders’ statement, the position of Ocasio-Cortez and Roger Waters’ reaction can be found in this other article: https://www.leftvoice.org/bernie-sanders-ocasio-cortez-legitimize-regime-change-in-venezuela

It is also important to remember that the United States corporate media, virtually in unison, have always been hostile to Venezuela and have supported not only the economic sanctions against the country but also the successive coup attempts that have so far failed.

The upcoming legislative elections in Venezuela are a threat to the empire’s fake narrative about Maduro’s ‘dictatorship’.  That a considerable part of the Venezuelan opposition has agreed to participate in the elections, repudiating the self-appointed ‘president’ Juan Guaidó, spreads a shovel of lime over any trace – if there still is one – of legitimacy in the opposition represented by Guaidó and his cronies.

A U.S. military attack before the December 6 Venezuelan elections would be yet another attempt to prevent these elections. Recent joint manoeuvres by the Brazilian and the U.S. navies in the Caribbean region indicate that preparations for an attack are already underway.

If Trump decides on such an intervention, virtually no criticism – much less real opposition – can be expected from the United States corporate media, or from the Democratic Party, or from the United States military cadres. Trump would then be free to move to front and centre stage and once again dominate the news cycle, projecting and affirming to a much wider public than that of his current supporters the image of the ‘strong man’, the ‘presidential’ leader who can recover America’s lost ‘greatness’. And this could bring him the necessary support for a new coup attempt before Biden’s inauguration. He has few options left to remain in power, and for Trump, this may be the only plausible one. Trump’s last days as president may be the most dangerous period ever faced by the Maduro’s Government.