What to do about Venezuela

U.S. policy towards Venezuela: A Fixation with ‘Process’

Unlike Fidel Castro, the Venezuelan president did not come to power by force. He was compelled to work within legal means to achieve power in a country with a long democratic tradition. The resulting veneer of legitimacy and legality has been essential to the government’s survival.  Largely because of a fixation with the democratic “processes” by which the Bolivarian regime took and consolidated power, as well as to concerns about Venezuela’s strong position as a major oil supplier, the Clinton and Bush administrations largely ignored what the regime in Caracas was saying and much of what it was actually doing.

The United States ignored two years of cries for help from Venezuela.  For two years, Venezuelan citizens, businessmen, political leaders, military officers, clergymen, and others implored the Bush administration for help and acknowledgment — but received none. The 24-hour coup on April 11, 2002 against the would-be dictator was a purely Venezuelan action, lacking even tacit U.S. support, let alone encouragement.  Among the public signs of U.S. non-involvement was the complete absence of the sort of highly public diplomatic offensives the U.S. generally takes to set the international political climate for regime change.

The executive branch also ignored warnings from Congress. The Bush administration also ignored warnings from some of its strongest and most influential friends. House International Relations Committee Chairman Hyde wrote a letter of warning to President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell in October 2002. He told them about “the leadership of all the pro-democracy elements of the society” in Venezuela meeting to demand the resignation of the dictator and the holding of free and fair elections. Hyde described the illegitimacy of the Bolivarian regime, and itemized its steady progress toward creeping dictatorship.  Rep. Hyde argued that the United States should “declare itself in sympathy with the pro-democratic civil-military coalition in Venezuela which seeks to restore democracy and should do so at once.”

The Bush Administration ignored the Venezuelans’ appeals and disregarded Chairman Hyde’s advice. The Bolivarian regime proceeded to defeat the democrats, break up their organizations, purge them from the nation’s institutions, have many beaten and shot, confiscate their property, and drive many of their leaders into exile and still the U.S. government did nothing.

Matters were made worse when Venezuelan opposition to the regime intensified last year, prompting millions upon millions of Venezuelan citizens to sign numerous petitions demanding a referendum on whether the government should stay in power.  The regime delayed and obstructed the recall referendum process at every turn. Once the regime was forced to submit to such a referendum, moreover, it used a fraud-filled voting process to ensure victory. The government did everything—including granting citizenship to half a million illegal aliens in a crude vote-buying scheme and “migrating” existing voters away from their local election office—to fix the results in its favor.  The outcome was then affirmed and legitimated by ex-President Jimmy Carter’s near-unconditional support.