Donald Trump, the democratic leader

Nicolás Maduro did it. In the hands of Senator Mario Rubio and Elliot Abrams, President Trump has become the champion of democracy in Latin America, shaking Venezuela's serious institutional situation. Mario Rubio clashed with President Trump with harsh epithets at the Republican Party primaries in 2015 to become a faithful convert after the election results. Elliot Abrams was an advisor to Presidents Reagan and Bush and led operations in support of the military governments of Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. He also participated in the coup against Hugo Chávez in 2002.

President Trump referred to Venezuela and the failure of socialist politics that transformed "The richest nation of South America in a state of poverty and despair" in the speech delivered to the State of the Union on February 5. The United States was responsible for the recognition of Juan Guaidó, Acting President, immediately followed by Lima Group countries and the application of a financial blockade to force the departure of Nicolás Maduro and the formation of a transitional government. The blockade limits imports and aggravates shortages.

Nicolás Maduro: "Without a doubt, Donald Trump gave the order to kill me"

The references to socialism were aimed at the members of the Democratic Party who, in the mid-term elections, were in favor of the word trend, so far banished from the vocabulary of politicians aspiring to public office. President Trump was "alarmed" by the calls to adopt socialism, recalling that the United States was founded on the basis of freedom and independence. Eyes converge on Senator Bernie Sanders for the state of Vermont and elected representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for New York and Rashida Tlaib for Michigan. Bernie Sanders spoke for Democratic Socialism in a December 2017 speech and representatives Ocasio-Cortez and Tlaib are identified with the organization of American Democratic Socialists (DSA) that is active within the Democratic Party. The three members rejected the recognition of Juan Guaidó as interim president, they recalled the interventions of the United States in Latin America during the cold war and they adhered to the call for dialogue between Mexico and Uruguay.

Trump's presentation had the edges of a campaign speech. During the 2015 election campaign, the Democratic Party opted for Hillary Clinton giving priority to the center despite the good performance of Bernie Sanders in the primary. The Venezuelan question shows once again this division. The main leaders supported the recognition of Juan Guaidó in order to avoid an ideological confrontation and to reflect on the importance of the state of Florida, where the Democratic candidate for governor, Andrew Gillum, black and progressive, and the candidate for Senator Bill Nelson could not defeat the Republican Candidates. The state of Florida, which has a strong Latin American presence, is important in the race for the presidency because of the number of voters. Hillary Clinton lost there by a narrow margin. The platform of socialist candidates cites in priority health insurance for all, free education, union building and an unrestricted immigration policy.

Donald Trump uses diplomacy "to perfection" to weaken Nicolás Maduro

President Trump, during his two years, has shown little interest in promoting democracy and defending human rights. On several occasions, he praised Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Rodrigo Duterte and Kim Jong-un and ignored calls to condemn the badbadination of Jamal Khashoggi by pious leaders of Mohammad Bin Salam. This task fell to Vice President Mike Pence, who represents the conservative evangelical wing of the Republican Party. The campaign in Venezuela allowed President Trump to occupy an unexpected place. We can only hope that patience prevails and do nothing that leads to an armed confrontation.