Trump pulls surprise move on Venezuela

By

Opinion

January 29, 2019 - 10:23 AM

Juan Guaido, president of the National Assembly, during a march against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, on Jan. 15. Rayner Pena/DPA/Abaca Press/TNS

At first glance, President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize an upstart opposition leader as president of Venezuela looks like an abrupt and risky break from diplomatic norms — vintage Trump, in other words.

But it may be the most traditional foreign policy move this president has ever made.

Not merely because Trump is seeking regime change in a Latin American country; the United States has done that for more than a century.

And not because the intervention was aimed at a leftist government allied with Cuba, long a target of hawkish Republicans.

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