Don't let the media get away with framing it the wrong way: Maduro was democratically elected. The same can't be said for Guaido.

That’s absurd.

extremely disappointing that you can't see this obvious imperial statecraft campaign for what it is. no one elected guaido.

Nothing to be disappointed by. Our having been bad does not make Maduro good.

do you think the crippling sanctions that starve innocents, constant bankrolling of coup attempts, strategizing with the venezuelan opposition by the united states has done anything to promote "democracy" there? how can anything we've touched there be seen with legitimacy?

Our sanctions there were horrible, and bad things much much worse.

but US interference in venezuela goes so much further than just the sanctions. john bolton admits in his book to constant communication and strategizing with the opposition. how can that kind of foreign interference in democracy be tolerated?

I totally see your point. But one thing being bad doesn’t make the other thing good. My point was about Trump’s attraction to strongman dictators; to me that’s very, very concerning. I opened a can of worms. I can see that.

and you're absolutely right about his affinity for strongmen! it's just that a lot of us feel that as americans we must be very wary of uncritically doing the work of empire for would be genociders like bolton and abrams.