Venezuela Sanctions Undo Gains of U.S. Policy of Restraint

Venezuela Sanctions Undo Gains of U.S. Policy of Restraint
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro greets supporters during an anti-imperialist rally with state oil and electric workers at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, March 18, 2015 (AP photo by Ariana Cubillos).

Venezuela is one country where U.S. foreign policy under President Barack Obama had struck the right tone—until a few weeks ago.

A diplomatic miscalculation by Washington has strengthened the repressive Venezuelan regime and derailed the Obama administration’s campaign to bolster ties with Latin American nations after December’s landmark reopening of relations with Cuba. Amid the urgent foreign policy challenges from the Middle East, Russia and elsewhere, the Venezuela debacle has unfolded mostly below the radar. But for those who have watched closely, it seems like a once-successful policy taking a sharply damaging turn.

The unraveling of Venezuela’s economy, institutions and social order under President Nicolas Maduro, with his perennial paranoid ramblings about a threat from the U.S., offered Obama the ideal conditions for his preferred mode of foreign policy: restraint. The more Maduro blamed his country’s woes on “the Empire,” pointing to Washington as the source of all that ailed Venezuela and claiming repeatedly that the U.S. was planning to invade, the more Obama’s attitude of mostly ignoring him highlighted the failings of Maduro’s autocratic regime.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article as well as three free articles per month. You'll also receive our free email newsletter to stay up to date on all our coverage:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having your own personal researcher and analyst for news and events around the globe. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of 15,000+ articles
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday
  • Weekly in-depth reports on important issues and countries
  • Daily links to must-read news, analysis, and opinion from top sources around the globe, curated by our keen-eyed team of editors
  • Your choice of weekly region-specific newsletters, delivered to your inbox.
  • Smartphone- and tablet-friendly website.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review