AMB GORDON SONDLAND: Trump showed strength in Venezuela — now finish the job

The United States finally did what needed to be done in Venezuela: it ended the Maduro nightmare. Credit where it is due — this required courage, clarity, and decisive leadership, and President Trump proved willing to act when others hesitated for years. 

Leaving Maduro in place would not only have condemned millions more Venezuelans to hunger, repression, and exile — it also would have handed Russia, China, and Iran a permanent beachhead in our own hemisphere and privileged access to the world’s largest oil reserves. Ousting Maduro wasn’t reckless interventionism. It was the only responsible move to protect American interests, stabilize the region, and prevent our adversaries from turning Venezuela into an energy-rich outpost of anti-U.S. power.

That reality has been clear for years. Venezuela under Maduro was never merely a mismanaged country; it was a criminal authoritarian state, lashed together by narcotraffickers, Cuban intelligence handlers, corrupt generals, and ideological militants.

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Meanwhile, Russia and China were not passively observing. They were entrenching themselves in the very arteries of Venezuela’s economy. Beijing served as banker, oil lifeline, and sanctions-evader-in-chief, while Moscow embedded itself deeply in Venezuela’s energy, military, and security structures.

Together, they weren’t rescuing Venezuela. They were converting it into a strategic extension of their global challenge to the United States — a forward base with oil.

If we do not anchor Venezuela securely to a stable Western orientation, our adversaries will — and they will do it with steel, hardware, advisers, and leverage, not speeches.

Had the United States stood aside, the consequences would have gone far beyond human suffering. Russia and China would have secured long-term preferential control over Venezuelan crude — not simply as customers, but as geopolitical stakeholders. That would mean discounted oil, secure supply lines immune from U.S. influence, and enormous revenue to fund hostile agendas. 

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Worse, it would have cemented an authoritarian foothold in the Western Hemisphere with direct leverage over regional politics and global energy markets. Doing nothing would not have been restraint. It would have been surrender.

And anyone who dismisses the idea that Russia or China would exploit a power vacuum is not paying attention. Both would move quickly to deepen their footprint: Moscow would look to re-establish a visible military presence — from rotational bomber deployments to naval access — while Beijing would pursue “dual-use” ports, intelligence platforms, advanced surveillance, and long-term leverage tied to energy. 

It would be the height of strategic foolishness to wave that threat away as hypothetical. If we do not anchor Venezuela securely to a stable Western orientation, our adversaries will — and they will do it with steel, hardware, advisers, and leverage, not speeches.

Nor should we ignore the geopolitical argument others will inevitably raise. It is not lost on the world that NATO sits on Russia’s border and that the United States backs Taiwan against Beijing’s ambitions. This is not the Cuban Missile Crisis redux, and we should not pretend it is. But precisely because the global environment is already this tense, allowing Russia or China to plant hard-power footprints in Venezuela would accelerate confrontation rather than avoid it. Leaving Venezuela “alone” does not produce neutrality. It produces escalation — on terms dictated by Moscow and Beijing.

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But removing Maduro is still only the beginning. It is the start of the most critical phase. Venezuela today is not a clean canvas awaiting democratic paint. It is a heavily armed, ideologically fractured landscape. Chavista militias, criminal power structures, and guerrilla factions are real, violent, and deeply invested in their own survival. Without disciplined stabilization, Venezuela does not become a peaceful democracy — it becomes chaos.

That hard truth leads to another that many policy purists dislike: transitional power will, by necessity, include figures from inside the old system. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez is one of them. She is no liberal reformer. Her career, rhetoric, and loyalty to Chavismo are unmistakable. And yet, it is increasingly likely that Rodríguez cooperated in enabling Maduro’s removal — whether out of instinct for self-preservation, ambition, or a belated recognition that the revolution had reached a dead end.

That matters enormously.

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Rodríguez has something democratic reformers like María Corina Machado do not: credibility among the armed elements that must actually be controlled — the guerrillas, colectivos, and militant loyalists unlikely to simply salute a new democratic leadership and disarm. Rodríguez speaks their language. She commands their grudging respect. And yes — her periodic anti-U.S. outbursts should be understood for what they are: political insulation, theater designed to reassure militants that they are not bowing to Washington while she quietly bends the transition toward stabilization aligned with U.S. objectives.

That does not mean Rodríguez should lead Venezuela’s future. But it may mean she is uniquely positioned to guide it through the dangerous present — neutralizing those who might otherwise fight, fracture the country, or drag Venezuela into prolonged insurgency. Stability requires sequencing: security first, institutional control second, full democratic renewal third. Those demanding instant democratic purity will unintentionally invite disaster.

The United States and democratic partners must therefore stay engaged and unapologetic. Venezuela needs a rebuilt security architecture. Militias must be disarmed. The military must be professionalized. Borders, ports, oil facilities, refineries, and infrastructure must be secured. Criminal and political coercion networks must be dismantled rather than pushed underground to later reemerge. This is not “occupation.” It is stabilization — the scaffolding so a shattered nation can stand.

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The stakes are bigger than Caracas. If Washington walks away now, Russia and China will be back instantly. They will re-embed, re-finance, and reclaim influence. They will secure privileged access to Venezuelan crude and leverage it globally. Iran will deepen covert networks and financial operations. Venezuela would again slide into an authoritarian orbit — only next time with adversaries better entrenched and far harder to dislodge.

But if we finish the job correctly, the upside is historic. A stable, sovereign, free-market-oriented Venezuela aligned with democratic partners becomes a force for hemispheric strength, a critical energy supplier to the free world, and a blunt repudiation of the fatalistic idea that once authoritarianism hardens, it cannot be reversed.

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There is also a moral obligation. Millions of Venezuelans starved, fled, and suffered under Maduro. Families shattered. A nation that once represented opportunity and dignity was reduced to repression and scarcity. Standing aside would have been complicity dressed as caution. The United States finally chose leadership. Leadership requires endurance.

Maduro is gone. Now America must finish the job — deny Russia and China a strategic foothold, ensure Venezuela’s oil fuels freedom rather than repression, and help 30 million people reclaim normal lives. The world is watching. Our adversaries are watching. This is the moment to prove that when America leads with clarity and resolve, it doesn’t just remove tyrants — it shapes history.

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