Arya News - Over 24 hours after President Maduro`s kidnapping by US forces, it`s still unclear what President Trump means when he talks about “running” Venezuela, international affairs observer and Issue Insight think tank research fellow John Kavulich tells Sputnik.
“We don’t have boots on the ground…whether those boots are Gucci loafers and people wearing suits or whether they’re boots of military people or they’re the boots of oil workers. We don’t have any of that,” Kavulich explained.The observer suspects US policy will be about trying to control what goes into and comes out of Venezuela to try to influence its government, sans Maduro, and hasn"t been thought about in any great depth by the commander-in-chief.“He’s opened a political Pandora’s box,” Kavulich says.Domestically, Venezuela seems to be “in a fairly secure place” in spite of Maduro"s kidnapping. “Government institutions have thus far publicly been resilient. The vice president is stepping in, the cabinet is stepping up, there aren’t riots, etc.,” Kavulich noted.“But it’s Venezuela’s relationship with Cuba that’s going to be incredibly demonstrative. How much pressure does President Trump force the current government of Venezuela to lessen its support?” That’s a key question, the observer says.Power Grows From the Barrel of a GunThe US “has made quite clear that oil is indeed the leading motive for the operation,” Dr. Royce told Sputnik.It’s likely that Washington is either “hoping to somehow squeeze out of Venezuela far more than Maduro would have been willing to give,” or is seeking a PR “superficial victory” by kidnapping him, “in the belief that this will somehow actually lead to a compliant Venezuelan government.”Otherwise, “the operation certainly should be viewed as part of an attempt to assert US domination over the entire New World, which is in turn part of the Trump administration"s broader strategy of reducing US commitments elsewhere while strengthening the country"s position in its own "near abroad". The implications of this are thus especially concerning for countries like Denmark (Greenland), Panama, Colombia, Cuba, etc,” the observer summed up.