If anyone can convince the Maduro government and the Venezuelan opposition to come together to fight COVID-19, it’s the Pope. But the Church’s power to negotiate an emergency deal is limited.
The devastating costs of economic sanctions on Venezuela are being ignored or disregarded. So too is the lack of a legal basis for international intervention.
Venezuela’s most famous political prisoner, freed from house arrest by soldiers who turned against President Maduro, now faces arrest after leading an April 30 rebellion against Maduro’s government.
As rival factions vie for control over Venezuela, many of the country’s 31 million people are suffering prolonged power outages, food and water shortages, and limited access to medicine.
The Trump administration says President Maduro’s ‘days are numbered’ after Venezuelan security forces killed four protesters. But any US-led operation to oust him is likely to be extremely unpopular.
A coup seems so imminent in Venezuela that people are debating whether Maduro’s overthrow would be good or bad for Venezuelan democracy. But history suggests a coup may be less likely than it seems.
At least a dozen countries are supporting the Venezuelan opposition lawmaker Juan Guaidó, who has declared himself Venezuela’s legitimate leader while President Maduro rejects calls to resign.
Part-time Professor at the School of International Development and Global Studies at the University of Ottawa and the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University, Carleton University