Caracas Chronicles

In my latest piece for Transitions, I make the case for foreign intervention in Venezuela’s domestic affairs – namely, that the crime wave has gotten so out of hand, and the government has shown itself so clueless, neighboring countries need to intervene. The headliner:

“In 2009, the U.N. Secretary General provided a blueprint for applying this norm. He emphasized that Responsibility to Protect applies to cases involving serious problems like genocide and ethnic cleansing, and the norm has been cited as the basis, in some cases, for military intervention.

Venezuela does not qualify according to these criteria, but this should not stop the international community from coming to the aid of the Venezuelan people. There is ample precedent for these types of interventions in the country.

…

If foreign diplomats can be moved to act in order to tend to a political crisis, it is even more pertinent to ask for their help in solving a dramatic social one. South American governments — particularly Venezuela’s neighbors — can assist Venezuela in tackling its crime problem by providing technical assistance, benchmarks to measure progress in key areas such as judicial reform, and suggesting changes to Venezuelan legislation, among other things. They can also supervise disarmament programs as well as assist with innovative policing techniques.”