Above, Trump having a Phil moment

On Monday, Feb 2, 2025 the administration of President again Donald Trump moved to repeal Temporary Protected Status from 348,000 Venezuelans. If Trump succeeds, these families will be returned to the Venezuela of President for Life Nicolas Maduro.< This is a big turn around by The Big T. On 11 August 2017 Trump said that he is “not going to rule out a military option” to confront the government of Maduro.

Since the death of socialist dictator Hugo Chavez (Case Study 41) Maduro has kept firm grasp on the government of Venezuela. Maduro was commissioned as a mole by Fidel Castro’s Direccion de Inteligencia to influence Venezuelan politics. He used his status to help Hugo Chavez out of jail after an attempted coup in 1992 and was instrumental in Chavez’ rise to power.

Maduro was chosen by Chavez to succeed him in case of death. Maduro’s presidential election wins since 2013 have been labelled as rigging by the Organization of American States. Under Maduro Venuezuela supported Bashir al-Assad <during the Syrian civil war and cut off relations with Taiwan to favor Xi Jinping‘s <PRC.

His presidency has coincided with a decline in Venezuela’s socioeconomic status and with increasing crime, inflation, poverty and hunger; analysts have attributed Venezuela’s decline to both Chávez’ and Maduro’s economic policies.

A 2018 Amnesty International report “accused Nicolas Maduro’s government of committing some of the worst human rights violations in Venezuela’s history“. The report found the violence was carried out, especially in Venezuela’s poor neighborhoods, and included “8,292 extrajudicial executions carried out between 2015 and 2017”. In one year, 22% of homicides (4,667) were committed by security forces.

Maduro heads an authoritarian government, and has been described as an autocrat and a dictator. Between 2013 and 2023, Venezuela dropped 42 places in the Press Freedom Index. According to estimations by the United Nations (UN) and Human Rights Watch, under Maduro’s administration, more than 20,000 people have been subject to extrajudicial killings and seven million Venezuelans have been forced to flee the country. The UN Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela concluded that the country’s justice system independence has been deeply eroded; the mission also identified frequent due process violations, including political external interference and the admission of evidence through torture. Most Venezuelan television channels are controlled by the state, and information unfavourable to the government is not covered completely. In 2018, a Board of Independent Experts designated by the Organization of American States (OAS) alleged that crimes against humanity have been committed in Venezuela during Maduro’s presidency. In 2021, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced the opening of an investigation regarding the situation in the country. Wikipedia

It is reasonable to believe many of the people Trump hopes to deport will be subjected to violence, unjustified incarceration and extrajudicial murder. The US government’s credibility by such a move, reneging on a promise of protection from a autocratic regime known for human rights abuses, will be severely damaged. The claim these people are all criminals is ridiculous; many of them have been working hard and trying to start a new life in the great, free democracy that has thus far been the United States.

Related

• OAS Member States Issue Joint Statement on Venezuela US Mission to the Organization of American States
• OAS General Secretariat Rejects Ruling Issued by Venezuela’s Supreme Court OAS.org
• ‘Beyond betrayal.’ Venezuelans in Florida are angry at Trump immigration policy NPR
• Venezuelans in U.S. call Trump’s move to end deportation protections a ‘betrayal’ NBCNews
• OAS General Secretariat Report Reaffirms Crimes against Humanity in Venezuela OAS.org
• Condemning Nicolás Maduro’s Illegitimate Attempt to Seize Power in Venezuela and Announcing New Actions Against Maduro and His Representatives and to Support the Venezuelan People US Embassy in Panama