History repeats itself. And some lessons
have to be re-learned. Such is the situation in Venezuela today.
Back in 1902 Venezuela was a basket case
heavily in debt to European powers. To force Venezuela to pay up, Germany,
Italy, and the UK blockaded the country. When its Maduro-like dictator Cipriano
Castro refused, Germany threatened military action. But President Theodore
Roosevelt would have none of it: he sent a fleet of 50 warships to intervene.
He not only got the Europeans to back off, he came up with a plan to settle the
dispute.
I’m over-simplifying this bit of
history, of course, but the point is that Roosevelt invoked the Monroe Doctrine
in two important ways. First, he used U.S. military might to prevent European
powers from imposing their will on this side of the Atlantic. Second, he
asserted the right of the United States to intervene in the financial affairs
of a neighboring country to preclude military action.
The situation in Venezuela today is
eerily similar. The country is in complete chaos, run by a dictator backed by a
well-fed army while the people are starving. But Maduro is just a puppet.
Pulling his strings and taking control of the country are Russia, China, and Cuba.
Even Iran wants to get in on the action. Millions of Venezuelans have taken to
the streets to force Maduro out, but, as of this writing, to no avail.
The United States could invoke the
Monroe Doctrine, but the Administration clearly prefers not to shed American
blood to resolve this conflict. While “all options are on the table,” time is running
out for a peaceful solution. If foreign powers, especially Russia, keep pouring
in military assets, we may have no choice. And the longer we wait, the higher
the costs will be.
Do we need to re-learn the lessons
of the past? What would TR do?
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