Thousands of miles away from Pakistan, a violent conflict is brewing in the Latin American country of Venezuela, a conflict that will involve and impact the whole world. President Nicolás Maduro, who won the presidency in what have been extremely controversial elections, termed fraudulent by some countries, blocked humanitarian aid coming into his country from crossing from Colombia and Brazil, which lead to deadly clashes in the Venezuelan border towns. Venezuelan troops fired tear gas and rubber balls at protestors, many of whom have been starved by the regime’s disastrous economy.
The form of battle may be militarily or economic but it is evident reading from the United States’ interest in Venezuela that there may be another global conflict in the making. The conflict escalated when President Trump recognised Venezuelan Opposition Leader Guaido as President instead of Maduro and it has only gotten worse since, with many American leaders hinting at going to war and imposing sanctions on the Latin American country. It is in retaliation to this that Maduro has banned any forms of humanitarian aid, since while the aid mostly consists of food supplies, sometimes it comes in the form of weapons as well.
It is indeed true that the Maduro regime has made terrible mistakes- the Venezuelan leader refused to adjust the economic policy to decreasing oil prices, leading to the highest rates of inflation ever seen. It is also true that the Venezuelan government officials profits off an exclusive exchange rate while selling dollars to their populations at an exuberant price, leading the poverty rate in Venezuelan to shoot to 80%. The fast fall of the economic conditions in Venezuela is a tragedy, and it would be wise for Maduro to call new elections- this time done fairly.
However, Venezuela’s brutal policies should not be a justification for US intervention. If the US interferes in the Venezuelan political process, it will not be a small case of humanitarian aid- this conflict is mired with international tones. The Maduro regime is supported by Russia and China, and any US interference has the potential to turn Venezuelan ground into a field for a proxy war. The many examples of US interference in Latin American countries in the past indicate that interference, military or economic, never bodes well for any side. The US should not precipitate a crisis that could lead to military intervention- the task of forcing Venezuela to allow humanitarian aid should be left to the United Nations.