The U.S. Escalates Pressure on Venezuela

0:00Today on State of the World, the U.S. escalates pressure on Venezuela.

0:09You're listening to State of the World from NPR. We bring you the day's most vital international stories, up close where they're happening. It's Thursday, November 20th. I'm Greg Dixon. The U.S. has assembled its largest military presence in the Caribbean in decades. It's part of a pressure campaign against Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro, who the Trump administration has said is behind drug trafficking in the region. Maduro denies he's involved in drugs. At a recent rally, he told supporters he wants peace. Peace, peace, peace. Hacer todo por la paz. And Maduro even started singing John Lennon's Imagine in English.

0:50Imagine us people.

0:57President Trump hasn't spelled out his plans for the South American country, but he has recently indicated Maduro might be ready to talk to the U.S. In a few minutes, we'll go to Colombia's border with Venezuela to hear how Venezuelans are reacting to this escalation. First, reporter John Otis tells us more about Maduro, an authoritarian leader who has proven to be a wily survivor.

1:26That's Venezuela's interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, leading thousands of civilians in an oath of allegiance. They're pledging to help defend Venezuela from a possible U.S. invasion.

1:42Along with Cabello, they shout, the imperialists and their allies should know that we are going to triumph. Officially, the U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean is to stop drug traffickers coming out of Venezuela. but many see it as an effort to depose Maduro. However, Maduro, who was first sworn in as president in 2013, has weathered numerous crises. He survived U.S. sanctions and Venezuela's worst economic meltdown in history. His troops have crushed waves of anti-government protests. He has stonewalled negotiators trying to ease him out of power and engaged in massive fraud to steal elections.

2:25Maduro even managed to escape this drone attack when he was giving a speech in Caracas in 2018.

2:35For years, U.S. officials have encouraged Venezuelan military officers to depose Maduro and collect the multi-million dollar bounty placed on his head by the State Department. But it hasn't worked. In 2019, troops loyal to Maduro easily put down a civic military uprising led by then-opposition leader Juan Guaidó. Indeed, Maduro has worked hard to coup-proof his armed forces. The way they did it was to break up the military into regional units. That's Phil Gunson, who's based in Caracas for the International Crisis Group. It's very difficult for them to communicate safely with one another. And officers are rotated from one place to another.

3:22So it's in order to make sure that no group of dissidents can stay together long enough to foment some kind of coup. What's more, many high-ranking officers, like President Maduro, stand accused of drug trafficking and human rights violations. If they were to throw out Maduro, there's no guarantee for them that they would not be in the same kind of trouble that he would be in. Some members of the Venezuelan opposition say they've run out of homegrown options and are now pushing for U.S. military forces to oust Maduro. There is no other way, says Zair Mundaray, a former government prosecutor now living in exile in Florida.

4:03But Trump pledged to extract the U.S. from overseas conflicts, not start new ones. As for Venezuelans, most despise Maduro and voted against him in last year's stolen presidential election. But Vladimir Villegas, a radio show host in Caracas, says disgust with Maduro does not necessarily mean support for a U.S. invasion.

4:33What voters expressed was their desire for a peaceful and democratic change of power, he says. President Trump says he's willing to hold talks with Maduro. But given the ostentatious U.S. military buildup in the region, Gunson says any outcome that leaves Maduro in power would be a huge victory for his regime. Unless they somehow manage to topple him, this strengthens Maduro. Because he's able to say, I stood up to them and they sailed away. For NPR News, I'm John Otis. To hear Venezuelans read on recent events, and PR's Carrie Khan takes us to the Colombia-Venezuela border.

5:16It's an overcast and windy day at this busy border crossing outside the northeastern Colombian city of Cucuta. Many people just came into Colombia for the day to buy things that they can't get in Venezuela or too expensive and you see them carrying bags and bags full of everything from Christmas decorations to wood products to eggs. The economy is really tough now, says 61-year-old Alfredo Vivas. He's wrapping up 12 large cartons of eggs he just bought to sell back home in Venezuela. He makes this border egg run every two weeks, but says lately he can't charge too much. No one has money. I ask him if people are worried about a U.S.

6:03attack. No, not that much, he says.

6:09What's scarier is staying in Venezuela, he jokes. Inflation is skyrocketing, estimated to top 500 % this year, and many say it's gotten too dangerous to speak your mind. There is no freedom of expression, says this woman, who asked we only use her first name, Linda. She's at the border helping her sister leave for Colombia. She's afraid Venezuelan authorities will see her talking to me. For sure they'll grab me and throw me into jail, she says, clutching her shivering chihuahua wrapped in a pink knit vest. She says she hardly goes out anymore. This situation is very tense these days, she says.

6:51Since President Nicolás Maduro declared victory in elections last year widely discredited as fraudulent, he's cracked down hard on dissidents. Nearly 8 million Venezuelans have fled the country during his more-than-decade-long rule. There are no figures on how many have left recently. But Marta Duque, who runs a migrant shelter at a nearby Colombian border town, says she's seen an uptick since the U.S. buildup.

7:20Relatives abroad are telling their Venezuelan loved ones to get out now and come to them where it's safe, she says.

7:33At least until all this is over, she says, since no one knows when or what is going to happen.

7:42At this huge supermarket in Cucuta, Venezuelan shoppers load carts with cooking oil and pasta. A steady stream also pick up money from relatives abroad at the Western Union kiosk. This man, who asked if we only use his first name, Jose, out of fear of retribution, says he's thankful for Trump.

8:06There's no way Venezuelans can get out of this without force, he says. But he warns the prospect of a U.S. intervention in Venezuela is worrisome. No one wants another Iraq or Afghanistan here, he says.

8:24The day after is the problem, he says. We like to think we will be different. But he says that uncertainty has everyone scared. Kerry Khan, NPR News, Cucuta, Colombia.

8:42That's the State of the World from NPR. Thanks for listening.