There’s a reason why Trump soured on Machado, and it has nothing to...
Daniel DePetris@DanDePetris
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Jan 07, 2026
~1 min read
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There’s a reason why Trump soured on Machado, and it has nothing to do with his obsession about the Nobel Peace Prize (1/5) 🧵
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Trying to install Machado (or Gonzalez) atop the Chavismo system, which remains intact, was untenable. It was never going to work. She had zero support from the people who actually held the levers of power. (2/5)
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So going through with such a scheme would require a re-ordering of the Venezuelan political system and the crafting of a new one from scratch. That, in turn, would require a much deeper U.S. commitment—far deeper than Trump and most Americans are willing to tolerate. (3/5)
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Working within the system and giving Delcy Rodriguez a chance is frankly easier. And because Trump doesn’t really care about democracy to begin with, it was the best—or least worst—option available to him. This will make a lot of democracy proponents livid, of course. (4/5)
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For some reason, highly qualified people don’t understand this. (5/5)
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End. Bye.
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"We don't want it [Venezuela] descending into chaos," said Rubio, speaking after briefing U.S. senators on the Trump administration's plan for the Latin American country.” reuters.com/world/us/rubio…
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As I said days ago. wsj.com/world/americas…
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Said this to. I’m free for an interview…
