Editorial: President Biden is using Title 42 against Venezuelans. That’s cowardly policymaking, especially for a man whose public image is being damaged by the government of President Trump.
The administration’s effort to demonize the Venezuelan government and to pressure it to withdraw support from the opposition is not only shameful, but counterproductive. As President Trump has made clear, his main strategic goal is to secure a peaceful transition of power in his country and bring America’s full support to the new socialist government, as a bulwark against the emergence of a dictatorship. However, that does not mean that the government of President Nicolas Maduro and his supporters should be viewed as the sole arbiter of any conflict in this country.
Maduro’s government is an absolute dictatorship, and has been for decades. While it is true that the military remains in place and its control of the streets is not absolute, there is not a single human being in Venezuela who has ever received a fair trial. The Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court or the Electoral Tribunal are all controlled by the Supreme Military Command, which is made up of Maduro’s inner circle. To be specific, the Supreme Military Command is composed of Maduro, Vice President Tareck El Aissami and the National Assembly President, and is backed by all the other members of the government, the executive branch, and the Supreme Court. Even the Supreme Court — which has had eight judges removed by Maduro since Hugo Chávez took power in 1999 — has a military commander presiding over it. Additionally, the Supreme Court has never held a vote on a matter not directly related to the state. So while Venezuela is not a military dictatorship, the government it has established, headed by President Maduro, is one, and the military is deeply embedded in its civilian bureaucracy. This makes it much easier for the government to manipulate the judiciary and the parliament (the National Assembly), and to exert complete control over the streets and the country, which has never been easier to take.
There is no reason to