Since the apprehension of Maduro, Venezuela continues to be governed by his former hand-picked Vice President Delcy Rodríguez (features top left), reports Associated Press. Many people are then scratching their heads wondering why the U.S. is apparently dissing opposition leader Maria Corina Machado (featured top right), winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
"She doesn't have the support within, or the respect within, the country. She's a very nice woman, but she doesn't have the respect," said Trump.
This raises questions as past administrations supported those in the Venezuelan opposition. Instead of replacing the oppressive leadership with someone of the opposition’s choosing, Trump has allowed those with ties to Maduro to continue running the country.
There is also the notion that Maduro was the ruler of the country illegitimately. In the recent election, Venezuela announced Maduro as president when, in reality, Machado’s representative, Edmundo González Urrutia, truly won.
Bob Maginnis is a national defense analyst and president of Maginnis Strategies, LLC.
"Where we are today is that it's up in the air. The people that were complicit with Maduro for a long time are still there. They haven't fled the country. Some of them have been extricated from the situation and are now resting quietly in U.S. jails, but many of them are not,” says Maginnis. “They're sitting in tables with that new president that was sworn in, and we'll have to wait and see."
Maginnis says that, as far as Machado, it is all to be determined “whether or not she'll come back and be part of the solution.” Meanwhile, he is concerned on what will be the role of the U.S.
"What I don’t want to see — there were lessons we learned from Panama and from Iraq. We don't need to repeat those. We need to figure out a better way. That better way is that, somehow, legitimate, peaceful, reliable partners can take over Venezuela and run it for the prosperity of its people and become a good neighbor. That's ultimately, I think, what Trump has in mind," states Maginnis.
