The Trump administration is pushing for the ouster of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro. It should proceed carefully.
Venezuela’s political and economic crisis took a fateful turn on Wednesday when the 35-year-old head of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, declared himself interim president and was promptly recognized by the United States, Canada, the Organization of American States and most Latin American governments. A mass demonstration called by Mr. Guaidó brought out throngs waving flags and chanting, “Get out, Maduro!”
But the embattled incumbent, Nicolás Maduro, defiantly stood his ground, railing against “coups” and “gringo interventions,” cutting ties with the United States and urging the armed forces to stand with him. Russia, Mr. Maduro’s ally and benefactor, weighed in with blistering warnings to the United States against any intervention. The Venezuelan defense minister declared that the armed forces, long a bastion of support for Mr. Maduro, remained behind him, but much depends on whether the rank and file will follow.
That Mr. Maduro must go has been obvious for some time. Since he succeeded the leftist strongman Hugo Chávez in 2013, his mismanagement, cronyism and corruption, exacerbated by the drop in the price of oil, Venezuela’s dominant source of revenue, have brought the country to ruin. Hyperinflation has rendered wages virtually worthless, people are dying of starvation and lack of medical care, and millions have fled to neighboring countries.
The question has been how to pry Mr. Maduro out without a blood bath.
