Venezuela, Trump and the Politics of Lies – Letter to the editor

Sir,

The United States’ actions in Venezuela illustrate the danger of electing leaders on the basis of deception rather than truth. Few ordinary Republican voters could have foreseen the chaos that would accompany Donald Trump and the inner circle he installed through loyalty rather than competence.

Claims circulated in sections of the American media that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was “arrested” are simply false. Maduro and his wife were, in fact, kidnapped. Equally misleading is the suggestion that this act brought his rule to an end. Within hours, a successor was appointed and the Maduro regime remains firmly in control.

Another fiction is the claim that the United States could “govern” Venezuela during an interim period. Such an idea is neither legally nor practically feasible and belongs more to fantasy than reality.

The most troubling falsehood, however, is the assertion that the intervention was motivated by a desire to liberate Venezuela from tyranny. The real objective is far more transparent: access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. This approach mirrors tactics seen elsewhere in the world, where power is asserted under the guise of moral intervention.

The old warning remains relevant: power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. American voters must ensure that such political excess is never repeated – that no morally compromised leader is again allowed to occupy the Oval Office and destabilise the world.

The upcoming midterm elections offer an opportunity for decency, accountability and balance to return to American politics.

Colin Bosman Newlands