The U.S. Needs to Act in Venezuela

As the crisis in Venezuela hurtles into its third month at the cost of more than 60 dead and thousands more injured and imprisoned in street demonstrations against the socialist government of Hugo Chávez heir Nicolás Maduro, indications are the Trump administration is ready to discard the do-nothing policy of Barack Obama. According to a recent Reuters report, the administration is weighing sanctions on Venezuela’s critical oil sector, including the state oil company PDVSA. (The oil-rich country remains the third-largest supplier to the United States.) In addition, the administration is considering further sanctions on individual Venezuelan senior officials involved in drug trafficking, corruption, and human-rights abuses.  More…