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Trump and South America
Power can be used for good or ill.
Here in the US, Trump carries on impulsively, without much thought to the consequences.
His obsession with tariffs is one example.
And so is his penchant for revenge against political adversaries.
But there are great opportunities to use power well. To use power in a manner that will have far reaching benefits.
One is South America and the Caribbean.
I’m thinking specifically of Venezuela and Cuba.
Imagine for a moment that Trump comes to his senses, even if briefly.
Imagine that instead of fixating on making peace with Putin, he would dare look up and look South.
Imagine that he might say to himself, how can I help South America?
Imagine that.
Just this last year Venezuela’s opposition beat dictator Maduro at the ballot box.
But Mr Maduro, like all dictators, knew that he could alter the results to favor him.
And he did.
Maria Corina Machado, the opposition’s leader, was denied the presidency.
It’s too hard for the opposition to go up against the guns of the military, pointed at the fighters for liberty, and ready to shoot them down.
Venezuela then, may be doomed to live without liberty for years to come. It could be decades.
They need only look at the example of Cuba to see the fate that awaits them.
But what if, in a moment of lucidity, Mr Trump were to look South, and again think, how could he help South America?
To date, seven or eight million Venezuelans have fled their country…
