In a candid interview, former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton dissected the Trump administration’s bold move against Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro regime. Speaking exclusively, Bolton defended the operation as fully compliant with international law, countering global backlash.
The action came amid widespread election fraud in Venezuela’s 2024 presidential vote, a pattern echoing the rigged 2018 polls. Back then, the U.S. backed interim leader Juan Guaido in a bid to oust Maduro. This time, legitimate opposition forces, validated by international observers, rallied against the dictator’s grip on power.
Bolton stressed the unique context, dismissing comparisons to Russia’s Ukraine invasion or potential Chinese moves on Taiwan. ‘This isn’t a precedent for aggression,’ he clarified. Yet, he pointed out a critical flaw: Trump removed Maduro but left the underlying dictatorship intact, creating confusion.
Trump’s recent comments hinted at readiness to tackle the regime fully, but only post-Maduro. Bolton revealed Trump’s fixation on accessing Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, a transactional motive over strategic policy. ‘Trying to pin a grand strategy on Trump’s actions is always a mistake,’ Bolton noted wryly.
Post-operation, Trump boasted U.S. oil firms would flood in and profit. Bolton called this fanciful. Decades of Chavez-Maduro mismanagement have wrecked Venezuela’s oil infrastructure—pumps, pipelines, loading facilities—all in ruins. Reviving exports demands billions in long-term investment amid political chaos.
Foreign companies, including American ones, won’t commit capital without stability. On Nobel Peace Prize chatter for Trump, Bolton quipped: ‘Give it a few days; he’ll claim it’s deserved for toppling Maduro. But don’t hold your breath.’ The interview underscores the complexities of U.S. intervention and oil geopolitics.
