Since launching a military campaign in the Caribbean earlier this year, Donald Trump has made clear what his initial goal is—but whether he has a plan for what happens if Nicolás Maduro falls is an open question, Vivian Salama and Sarah Fitzpatrick report. theatln.tc/9qgcxUMS
The president’s end goal with Venezuela “is to work with a new government to gain access to the country’s oil and rare earth minerals,” Salama and Fitzpatrick write. But what that would mean in terms of leadership—or how to achieve such a goal in the first place—remains a mystery to many officials. “The opacity comes, in part, from Trump’s desire to avoid the pitfalls that came with previous U.S. attempts to plan for the unpredictable and often-chaotic outcomes of regime change in authoritarian nations,” Salama and Fitzpatrick continue.
One administration official Salama and Fitzpatrick spoke with worried that going to war in Venezuela could create a failed state that would lead to a surge of migrants heading northward. Another official told them that even if Maduro were to leave willingly, things in Venezuela “will likely get worse before they get better.”
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters last week that “prolonged war is definitely not something this president is interested in. He’s been very clear about that.” Less clear, Salama and Fitzpatrick write, is “whether he has any actual plan to avoid it.”
The Atlantic
Since launching a military campaign in the Caribbean earlier this year, Donald Trump has made clear what his initial goal is—but whether he has a plan for what happens if Nicolás Maduro falls is an open question, Vivian Salama and Sarah Fitzpatrick report. theatln.tc/9qgcxUMS
The president’s end goal with Venezuela “is to work with a new government to gain access to the country’s oil and rare earth minerals,” Salama and Fitzpatrick write. But what that would mean in terms of leadership—or how to achieve such a goal in the first place—remains a mystery to many officials. “The opacity comes, in part, from Trump’s desire to avoid the pitfalls that came with previous U.S. attempts to plan for the unpredictable and often-chaotic outcomes of regime change in authoritarian nations,” Salama and Fitzpatrick continue.
One administration official Salama and Fitzpatrick spoke with worried that going to war in Venezuela could create a failed state that would lead to a surge of migrants heading northward. Another official told them that even if Maduro were to leave willingly, things in Venezuela “will likely get worse before they get better.”
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters last week that “prolonged war is definitely not something this president is interested in. He’s been very clear about that.” Less clear, Salama and Fitzpatrick write, is “whether he has any actual plan to avoid it.”
Read more: theatln.tc/9qgcxUMS
📸: Adriana Loureiro Fernandez / The New York Times / Redux
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