Why the United States and Latin America Need a New Venezuela Strategy

The United States should refrain from these combative policies and play a more indirect role in encouraging its Latin American partners to take the initiative in mitigating the brewing crisis in Venezuela. The South American union, UNASUR's democracy clause could be utilized to banish Venezuela from participation in the organization until it releases political prisoners and combats graft by decentralizing assets from the control of state and regime allies. In light of the Bolivarian regime's emphasis on a Pan-Latin American identity, regional isolation will be a severe blow to its public legitimacy. The sharpening of rhetorical criticism to specific abuses rather than moralistic denunciations of the nature of the Venezuelan regime will restrict Maduro's ability to scapegoat the U.S. for Venezuela's problems. Ultimately, the willingness of Latin American actors to address this crisis will be crucial to determining Venezuela's political trajectory and in the reversing the pernicious course taken by other left-wing populist regimes modeled after Chavez's system. More…