Donald Trump vs Venezuela, narco-cartels and Nicolás Maduro: Regional consequences of a (possible) military action
Speakers:
Sandra Borda is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Los Andes in Bogotá. Her research focuses on international relations. She served as a High Councilor for International Relations of the city of Bogotá and was a member of the Foreign Policy Mission convened by the national government. Borda is the author of numerous books and a regular commentator for El Tiempo, Revista Cambio, and Revista Arcadia. She lives in Bogotá, Colombia.
Carlos A. Pérez Ricart is an assistant professor in International Relations at the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE). His research interests include the relationship between Mexico and the United States, security and organized crime, arms trafficking, drug policies, and the history of the Mexican police. He is the author of numerous academic texts as well as a commentator for different Mexican and international news outlets. He lives in Mexico City.
Mariano de Alba is a Venezuelan lawyer specialized in international law and foreign affairs. He is currently an Associate Fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. His research focuses on the powers and limits of global institutions in peacemaking. He served as a Senior Advisor for the International Crisis Group in Brussels and as an Associate Director for the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C. He is a regular commentator for Le Grand Continent, El País and other international media outlets. He resides in London, United Kingdom.
Concept and Moderation:
Mirjana Tomic, fjum/Presseclub Concordia
Background:
What are President Donald Trump’s plans for Venezuela? Combat drug cartels or regime change. According to the Freedom House ranking, Venezuela is not a free country: “Venezuela’s democratic institutions have been deteriorating since 1999, but conditions have grown sharply worse in recent years due to harsher government crackdowns on the opposition and the ruling party’s use of thoroughly flawed elections to seize full control of state institutions. The authorities have closed off virtually all channels for political dissent, restricting civil liberties and prosecuting perceived opponents without regard for due process.”
Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s president, seems ready to use all means to stay in power, while the opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Maria Corina Machado, believes that the US can help defeat the non-democratic regime. Approximately 8 million Venezuelans left the country.
The US has concentrated an enormous military force in the Caribbean, the largest since the US invasion of Panama. Whatever President Trump decides to do, his military actions will impact not only Venezuela, but also the region, especially Mexico and Colombia, countries with outsized drug cartels, designated by President Trump as terrorist organizations.
Will President Trump intervene militarily in several Latin American countries? The recently released US National Security Strategy evokes Trump Corollary of the Monroe Doctrine and designates Latin America as a zone of its predominance. What does it mean for Latin America?