As Venezuelan struggle continues, the United States must continue to provide support until the fall of the regime

Juan Guaidó and the Venezuelan opposition launched Tuesday, April 30 a civil uprising against Nicolás Maduro, requesting military support to end the current Venezuelan regime.

The decision of the Venezuelan opposition to start what Guaidó called "Operation Libertad" it was based on the badumption that the critical sectors of the army and the institutional apparatus of the regime would change sides.

It was believed that the main deserters of the Maduro regime would include: Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino; the president of the Supreme Court of Venezuela, Maikel Moreno; and the head of the presidential guard, Iván Hernández.

However, these expectations have not been met. None of the three joined the opposition forces. On the other hand, the number of dissidents was not enough to terminate the scheme.

These events led some to believe that the attempt to overthrow Maduro had failed.

Although the plan did not work out as planned, it would be premature to report what happened on April 30 as a failure. Instead, it's time to consider a plan B.

First, it is important to note that Plan A did not really fail. The main political opponent, Leopoldo Lopez, was released from house arrest with the help of armed defense forces who support Guaidó. Other dissidents, including the former chief of intelligence
Christopher Figuera, they left Maduro and declared their support for the "Operation Freedom"

We are witnessing a situation in which the regime, even though it has not yet been overthrown, has serious flaws. This indicates that it is not the moment for the rebels to give upneither for the international community, especially the Member States
United, give up your efforts to democratize Venezuela.

Referring to the appointment of the legendary Patrick Henry who served as slogan of the American Revolution and inspired the independence movements in Latin America, the collapse of the Maduro regime is a matter of "freedom or death" for the Venezuelan people. Venezuelan citizens are fighting for their freedom. If this battle is not won by the Venezuelans, they will be forced to live in a situation of tyranny and physical and spiritual slavery, as the Cubans have lived in the last six decades.

For the United States, the regime's survival means that the Western Hemisphere, of which the region is a part, will continue to be infected by more anarchy, drug trafficking and foreign terrorists. In addition to this, such a situation would give them a strategic advantage
growing up to his opponents.

Indeed, the Venezuelan crisis will test to what extent the United States is able to control Russian power and Show the world that this is not a declining superpower. But a show of weakness on the part of the United States could generate a situation similar to that of
In the early 1960s, after the missile crisis in Cuba, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev forced President John F. Kennedy to guarantee the integrity of Fidel Castro's regime. This helped to turn Cuba into a seditious state that threatened to destabilize many countries in the region and eventually become impunity.
narco-state.

May 2, the New York Times He acknowledged the fact that the current Minister of Industry and former Vice President of Venezuela, Tarek El Assami, had brought Hezbollah militants into the country.

Hezbollah has been badociated with drug traffickers and has actively cooperated in the production of cocaine. This is only the tip of the iceberg of the serious danger that we denounce for nearly two decades.

More importantly, the Times' report was released by the Venezuelan intelligence community, revealing a major breakdown of security forces presumably loyal to Mr. Maduro. The exit of Figuera confirms it. In addition, it can be badumed with some degree of certainty that Padrino, Moreno and Hernández did not cooperate with the opposition as they were discovered by Cuban intelligence services. In fact, Maduro was already aware of the plot on Monday morning, forcing Guaidó to launch "Operation Libertad" one day before the expected date of the popular uprising. I'm taking the opportunity to point out that each dictatorship, and even more each totalitarian dictatorship, fears the armybecause it is the only institution with the power to overthrow the regime. It is therefore logical that Padrino be subject to strict supervision, because Maduro did not trust him, any more than the military institution.

Following this logic, I would also dare to bet that the army is intimidated precisely because the regime relies on Cuba. The direct involvement of Cuba's Intelligence Directorate, which is one of the most effective intelligence agencies in the world, would increase as intelligence-gathering deficiencies worsen.
security of Venezuela. In this direction, President Trump's threat to impose a total blockade on Cuba this is a step in the right direction and should be implemented as soon as possible.

So what should you do?

During the last visit, the Trump administration could have requested a regime change through a Cuban mediation. The problem with this option is that it seems like a desperate gesture and a kind of recognition that the April 30 uprising
failure It would be negotiating in a weak position that would give Cuba undue influence over the negotiations.. In fact, the Cuban government under the presidency of Miguel Diaz-Canel and the strict supervision of Raúl Castro have already stated that Maduro should be part of the negotiations. Any negotiations involving the participation of Maduro would cancel the
ultimate goal which is to reject the totalitarian regime. Maduro will not give up and Cuba even less.

Recently, we have suggested naval and air blockades in Venezuela. This could be a first step to avoid shipments of arms and other supplies from Russia, Iran or China.

But in addition to that, it would be necessary to resort to a concentration of troops along the Colombian-Venezuelan border. This could be a powerful psychological weapon as it could balance the intimidation to which Venezuelan officers wishing to end Maduro's regime
they are subject At the same time, such a step could intimidate officers loyal to Maduro but encourage them to desert. Similarly, it would be important to give military officials and security forces the badurance that they would not be prosecuted when they agreed to join the opposition. .

American sanctions have obviously helped to change the mentality of certain sectors loyal to the regime. This is certainly encouraging. However, as weapons and foreign badistance attempt to rescue the Maduro regime, the United States must provide the Venezuelan opposition with real support, a dose of muscular deployment.

US national security is not the only one at stake. United States, but also his role as leader of the free world.

Mr. Luis Fleischman is Senior Advisor of the Menges Continental Security Project at the Center for Security Policy Washington DC He is also a professor of sociology at Palm Beach State College. He is the author of the book "Latin America in the post-Chavez era: the threat of security for the United States".