Let’s Stay out of Venezuela

It saddens me to see people who want to see an American Invasion of Venezuela. Invasions are not casualty-free. In my opinion a full-scale military invasion against Venezuela will be a tremendous disaster that could have been handled diplomatically.

Here are some quick facts about Venezuela

1. Oil was discovered in Venezuela in 1914, and this became Venezuela’s major export to this day.
2. Venezuela was one of the founding members of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) and is to this day the only Western Nation to be a member of OPEC. Venezuela is in the top 3 countries with the largest oil reserves in the world.
3. Many countries besides the United States buy Venezuelan Oil. Russia, China, India, the Swiss, and Mexico also buy lots of their oil.
4. Venezuela was once one of the wealthiest countries in South America and one of the most democratic.

The Current Situation in Venezuela looks very bleak right now. The Country is going through economic and political turmoil and the economy is plummeting. The violence is getting worse through violent protests and police repression. And because the President of the country Nicolas Maduro refuses to step down from office, many view an overthrow as the only solution.

The United States is no stranger to military intervention in Latin America. The U.S has invaded Panama and conducted military operations in Colombia, not to mention other horrible choices. The majority of Latin American countries denounced U.S President’s Trump announcement that he may have military options for Venezuela. I will write some bullet points to some of the consequences if the U.S invades Venezuela to overthrow the government.

• High Casualties. Venezuelan military and civilian casualties will be high. A large loss of human life
• Venezuela’s oil structures will be devestated and oil shipments to other countries would be halted. Many countries will be mad at the United States for not getting the oil
• Destabilization. The invasion chaos of Venezuela can spread into Colombia or Brazil. Colombia is a fragile country just recently healing from a 50+ civil war.
• Insurgency. No doubt many angry Venezuelans would attack U.S soldiers occupying their country after losing family members and loved ones to American troops.
• No country would support the invasion and the U.S will have a more badly damaged reputation. And the oil market would be badly damaged.

These are just some of the major consequences of what a military invasion of Venezuela could cause. The costs are not worth it. I believe the situation needs to be handled diplomatically. “Smart” sanctions should be used against the Venezuelan government and diplomatic pressure from other South American countries. It must be a unified diplomatic effort. More than 400 Panamanians were killed when the U.S invaded in 1989, that should never be repeated.