To the Editor:
President Trump’s intervention in Venezuela could well be the first chapter of an era of expansion that will not benefit the American people and is sure to damage our position of leadership on the world stage.
The operation that extracted Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela to stand trial in the United States, though remarkably successful, comports with the president’s well-telegraphed, self-serving agenda of resurfacing America’s imperialist past.
In the context of Mr. Trump’s designation early in his second term of Canada and Greenland as ripe candidates for annexation, his Venezuelan incursion should not come as a surprise.
Deceptively and narrowly promoted as a tactic to disable that country’s drug trafficking, the intervention should be seen as no less than a step in a larger plan to control Venezuela as well as other vulnerable countries in the Americas. Mr. Trump has already blatantly put Mexico, Cuba and Columbia on his to-do list.
Left unchecked, this confluence of destructive policies in this hemisphere and beyond will upend decades of stability that will be difficult to reverse.
Roger Hirschberg South Burlington, Vt.
To the Editor:
Re “Trump’s Attack on Venezuela Is Illegal and Unwise” (editorial, Jan. 5):
Whether one agrees or disagrees with the constitutional, legal or political aspects of Operation Absolute Resolve, the bravery and skills of our military and law enforcement personnel executing this daring mission cannot be questioned.
Its breathtaking success should not be tarnished or diminished even by the dismal failure of the commander in chief to present the American people with a coherent, viable plan to deal with the days, weeks and months after this perfect military operation.
Dorian de Wind Austin, Texas The writer is a retired U.S. Air Force officer.
To the Editor:
I ask my fellow Americans this: Regardless of who is in the Oval Office, how would you feel if Venezuela invaded Washington, extracted the president and first lady and then declared that Venezuela would run our country?
Peter Gordon Great Neck, N.Y.
To the Editor:
The president who claimed that his would be an administration of “America First” and that the United States would eschew being the police officer of the world has apparently renounced those positions through invading Venezuela and deposing its strongman, Nicolás Maduro. Mr. Maduro now faces Donald Trump’s vengeance through the Justice Department that he has stacked with his sycophants.
We have now used our military might against a country that posed no threat to us, violating international law, and this has been done on one man’s initiative without even advance notification to, let alone acquiescence from, Congress.
Apparently no lesson was learned from the Central Intelligence Agency’s long, sordid and failed history of interference in other countries’ affairs, assassinating and deposing foreign leaders. The ill will that was generated through those acts will now be rejuvenated.
This is a great moment for Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, and China’s president, Xi Jinping. The United States can no longer chide and lecture them when they seek to expand their territory by taking over weaker countries.
I hope that the rest of the world recognizes that the actions of our president do not reflect the wishes of our people, many of whom are appalled.
Oren Spiegler Peters Township, Pa.
To the Editor:
Re “Is There a Way for Lawmakers to Push Back? Is There a Will?” (Congressional Memo, front page, Jan. 5):
The answer to this first question is easy, that is, if congressional Republicans will remember their sacred oaths to our Constitution and impeach and convict a lawless president. Is there a will? We and our founding fathers can only hope.
Mary C. Helf Flourtown, Pa.
To the Editor:
Many Americans will decide how they feel about the Venezuela mission according to how they feel about Donald Trump. But the president’s final grade from the public will depend on where the “wait and see” crowd comes down.
If they see a one-day operation with few repercussions outside Venezuela, the capture of Nicolás Maduro will be remembered as a success like the 2011 killing of Osama bin Laden.
If they see boots on the ground, a tide of refugees and a new generation learning the definition of “quagmire,” this day will mark Mr. Trump’s plunge into job approval ratings the likes of which he has never seen.
Michael Smith Georgetown, Ky.
To the Editor:
Well, you have to admit … the president did knock Jeffrey Epstein off the front page.
Daniel Heyman Valhalla, N.Y.
The post The Aftermath of Trump’s Raid on Venezuela appeared first on New York Times.
