U.S. Policy On Venezuela Is Shifting To Regime Change, But U.S. Military Intervention Is Not Being Considered

According to United Nations figures, 1.9 million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2015. (AFP Photo/SCHNEYDER MENDOZA)

Stratfor: U.S. Policy on Venezuela Formally Shifting Toward Regime Change

* A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is considering a more aggressive approach toward Venezuela with a bill calling for human rights prosecutions and a major U.S. role in the country's recovery.
* The legislation would make the already unlikely prospect of negotiations between the Venezuelan and U.S. governments virtually impossible.
* Though support appears to be building in Washington for greater legislative action to address Venezuela's humanitarian crisis, direct U.S. military intervention remains extremely unlikely.

While the U.S. government is moving toward a policy of regime change in Venezuela, its actions may simply lead to a prolonged standoff. In the U.S. Senate, lawmakers are working on a bill that largely codifies much of what is already existing policy, but the measure could also lead to a loss of political and economic power for Venezuela's rulers, as well as prosecutions for crimes against humanity. While the bill's approval would be significant, its stipulations make a negotiated solution to Venezuela's political stalemate highly unlikely. The current government won't agree to talks under the bill's conditions and will instead cling ever more fiercely to power.

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WNU Editor: There is little (if any) American public support for a military intervention against Venezuela. The most that any one can expect are more economic sanctions, and the hope that Latin America's major countries will get there act together on how to push for change in Venezuela. In the meantime for Venezuelans, the Caracas government is moving to make life even more difficult for people who are trying to flee .... Venezuela forms immigration police to strengthen border controls (AFP).