Should the US cease all diplomatic relations with Venezuela?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

While I don't agree with it, I can marginally understand how a leftist could still claim Chavez was one of the good guys. Maduro? At a minimum, his ineptitude and inability to reign in the rampant corruption of the Bolivarian regime once lower oil prices rendered that corruption unsustainable makes him of the bad guys, and that assumes he actually believes the BS he spouts rather than cynically using it as a means to stay in power to line the pockets of himself and his cronies.

[JA]

Uh, Maduro is one of the good guys.

He really isn't. Maduro is better than the people trying to replace him, certainly. But the majority of Venezuelans who continue to support the Bolivarian Revolution need to find a way to move past Maduro. He has proven himself to be weak and an awful torch bearer of Chavez's legacy, primarily due to his weakness, incompetence, and attempts at pragmatism. When he failed to destroy the currency controls that governed the distribution of oil income, the result was the current crisis, with black market currency speculation, hoarding and smuggling of gas and food, and an explosion of already rampant corruption. When protests erupted, he supported a confused policy of supporting both grassroots production and courting private corporations.

His attempt to reach a compromise resulted in an election that saw his party soundly defeated in the polls, which has allowed the opposition to take one branch of government and provoke an institutional crisis as they attempt to seize the other branches by constantly violating Supreme Court rulings and trying to topple Maduro. The opposition has strongly encouraged violent protests, wherein the protesters, not the government, have caused deaths. 55% still support Chavez and about half oppose the violent tactics of the opposition attempting to topple the democratically elected President. The opposition has turned to employing violent tactics, like street blockades, looting, bombings and infrastructural attacks on public transport, hospitals, state television, and milk production facilities, and has recently threatened to name a government-in-resistance.

For a supposed authoritarian government, it sure hasn't done much to stop the democratic process or end street protests. All the claims of government corruption conveniently ignore the private companies that took billions of dollars worth of government funds and disappeared into thin air. The empty shelves are attributable more to intentional sabotage of production than the government, due to businesses aligning with the opposition. Meanwhile, proponents of Bolivarian Revolution have recognized the need to move past Maduro's government, primarily by using the Constitutent Assemply and cleansing the government of corruption, while also nationalizing key industries like banking and foreign exchange, disempower the military, and end currency controls. If the rightwing wins, then drastic austerity will be implemented and civil war seems inevitable.

And all of that fails to mention the blatant hypocrisy of Maduro's foreign critics, who focus their attention on his government, while simultaneously turning a blind eye to the far more damning actions of Brazil's unelected President with 5% approval. The man has literally been caught on audio engaging in bribery, his staff caught on video with a briefcase full of bribery money, put into office by a Congress half of whose members were being investigated for corruption that claimed the elected President was corrupt (she was guilty of moving around some numbers on government reports, IIRC), and once she was ousted, proceeded to end corruption investigations, pass Constitutional changes that restricted social welfare spending, implemented austerity, and have voted to protect President Temer from his Supreme Court indictment for corruption. All of that is fine to Western governments and commentariat, but Maduro is simply unacceptable?

[Badger]

There is literally no comparison to be made between Bolivarian Authoritarianism and Republican Politics.

I know. The Republicans are WORSE!

Goodbye troll.

In fairness, Sunrise, Bandit is no troll. He believes every word of his BS.

Every time I start to wonder if the sheer stupidity of most Trumpista posters makes me question whether I'm OK with my party registration, Bandit comes along and reassures me.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

The US should invade Venezuela to crush the anti-Maduro protesters.

[mvd10]

It's really easy for an American/European living a cozy life in some suburb saying that Maduro is one of the good guys (I know that only the tankies support Maduro though, generally even the most left-wing Atlas posters acknowledge Maduro is a terrible person). What Maduro is doing isn't even about socialism anymore, it's just plain incompetence. Look at how the people in Venezuela live (average Venezuelan lost 19 pounds last year...) and look at the daily police brutality they're confronted with. Is that your socialist ideal? It's closer to fascism lol. Maduro isn't some great socialist intellectual, Venezuela completely relied on oil to pay for everything and when oil isn't worth anything this happens (though Venezuela's price controls also are a massive problem).

[Tintrlvr]

There is literally no comparison to be made between Bolivarian Authoritarianism and Republican Politics.

I know. The Republicans are WORSE!

Goodbye troll.

I don't really understand why everyone doesn't have Bandit on ignore already. Even if you are also very left-wing, he clearly lives in an alternative truth universe and has nothing useful to say to anyone.

Anyway, obviously not. Ernest put his finger on the main reason; it is to the disadvantage of the opposition and the advantage of Maduro for the US to be seen as involved at all in current affairs in Venezuela. This is the problem with doing things that make you the world's villain; it reduces your ability to effect change through soft power in the long term.

[Coraxion]

Uh, no he isn't. I'm not sure what is so "good" about dictators who are oppressing their own people.

You mean like Trump and the Bush crime family?

You know what this comment reminds me of? A video I watched of British journalists interviewing ex-Stasi members. They asked the ex-Stasi members if they regret any of their disgusting actions. The two men responded by saying no and by accusing Americans and Brits of being war criminals.

How's it feel to be on the same logic train as ex-Stasi members? There is nothing good about a dictatorship ripping apart a country that was once the gem of South America.

The Chavez-Maduro legacy will be one of heartbreak, destruction, autocracy and terror.

Association fallacy.

[SATW]

Uh, no he isn't. I'm not sure what is so "good" about dictators who are oppressing their own people.

You mean like Trump and the Bush crime family?

You know what this comment reminds me of? A video I watched of British journalists interviewing ex-Stasi members. They asked the ex-Stasi members if they regret any of their disgusting actions. The two men responded by saying no and by accusing Americans and Brits of being war criminals.

How's it feel to be on the same logic train as ex-Stasi members? There is nothing good about a dictatorship ripping apart a country that was once the gem of South America.

The Chavez-Maduro legacy will be one of heartbreak, destruction, autocracy and terror.

Association fallacy.

Ah, but saying U.S. Republicans are worse than Maduro isn't a fallacy? ridiculous.

[SATW]

There is literally no comparison to be made between Bolivarian Authoritarianism and Republican Politics.

I know. The Republicans are WORSE!

Goodbye troll.

In fairness, Sunrise, Bandit is no troll. He believes every word of his BS.

Every time I start to wonder if the sheer stupidity of most Trumpista posters makes me question whether I'm OK with my party registration, Bandit comes along and reassures me.

That's true, Bandit has always been consistently crazy.

[SWE]

No. We should give Maduro's gang as few opportunities as possible to blame us for their mess.

This. There seems to be no benefit to doing this other than to make a point that we think Maduro is mean while not actually doing anything to help.

I'm kind of fond of Sunrise's point about a South American Marshall Plan, although our motivations for supporting that are probably dramatically different, I'm sure.

[maga2020]

Yes and start a military intervention.

[TDAS04]

No, we maintain good relations with Saudi Arabia and other worse countries.