The United States Must Liberate Venezuela

The United States must continue to make it clear that we stand with the Venezuelan people, against tyranny, and for democracy.

Credit: Matias Delacroix, Associated Press

It is no secret that the United States and Venezuela have not enjoyed friendly relations with each other. This fact has become especially apparent under President Trump. The President has on multiple occasions—both publicly and privately—spoken of potential military action against the South American nation across his two terms. This possibility became particularly relevant with the appointment of Marco Rubio—a longtime advocate of intervention in Venezuela—as Secretary of State under the second Trump administration. Catalyzing regime change would certainly work towards America’s best geopolitical interests. And taking such a bold and active step to liberate the Venezuelan people is the morally right thing to do, as well.

Nicolás Maduro is not the legitimate President of Venezuela; he is a usurper, holding onto power through illegal means, despite his people making it abundantly clear that they do not support his regime’s continued rule. The 2024 presidential election was suspect from the outset. Maduro blocked his leading political rival, María Corina Machado—who was recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize—from running. When the election occurred, the legitimate results published by the opposition—which have been independently verified by election experts—showed Maduro losing in a landslide to former diplomat Edmundo González. This result was affirmed by President Biden’s Secretary of State. But the “official” results published by the government (which lack transparent data such as tally sheets) claimed that Maduro had won a third term. The government has since engaged in harsh crackdowns against dissent, forcing the rightful president-elect to seek exile in Spain. Political scientist Steven Levitsky called the episode “one of the most egregious electoral frauds in modern Latin American history.”

Since the election, multiple Venezuelan dissidents—including Machado, who has remained in hiding in Venezuela despite the immense threat to her life—have publicly stated that they would welcome American military assistance in deposing Maduro. U.S. military intervention would not be an invasion. It would be a liberation of a people suffering under an illegitimate government—one they have rejected and that refuses to abide by democratic laws. Nor would it necessarily entail boots on the ground. Intervention might instead begin with a naval blockade, air strikes, and the like. This would catalyze action from within the nation, providing support to armed rebel movements without requiring American soldiers to set foot on Venezuelan soil. Any true believer in liberal democracy should approve of such a move. 

As he has repeatedly shown, Maduro is not interested in any kind of peace. His government’s claimed annexation of two-thirds of the territory of neighboring Guyana, for example, is a gross violation of Guyanese sovereignty and international law. If Maduro does not face punishment for his actions, he will continue to jail and murder his political opponents and intimidate neighboring countries. He will persist in eroding Venezuela’s democracy and will destabilize the democracies of other nations in the region. Indeed, the situation is already dire—almost 8 million Venezuelans have fled because of food insecurity and political persecution since 2014. 

Fortunately, the Trump administration has demonstrated a willingness to confront Maduro, most recently by shooting down a boat operated by a Venezuelan drug cartel and through other displays of force in the Caribbean. The United States must continue to make it clear that we stand with the Venezuelan people, that we want to see their wishes for self-governance honored, and that we stand against tyranny, against dictatorship, and for democracy.

On Oct. 10, following her receipt of the Nobel Prize, Machado posted the following on X: “We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy.” Machado’s words amount to a renewed call for U.S. intervention. The United States should listen to the Nobel laureate and restore order, democracy, and self-government to the people of Venezuela.