John Bolton: This is the right way to overthrow Maduro

John R. Bolton was ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush and national security adviser under President Donald Trump.

The Venezuelan people have every reason to overthrow Nicolás Maduro’s repressive, corrupt, failing regime. The pervasive presence and influence of Russia, Cuba, China and Iran in Venezuela add compelling national security reasons for the United States and other Western hemisphere neighbors to help. Maduro’s dictatorship has no redeeming social value.

On a rare bipartisan basis in 2018-2019, Washington backed the Trump administration’s unsuccessful effort to help Venezuelans recapture self-government in what had once been one of the New World’s most prosperous countries. Assuming that the United States can reason strategically to achieve its object