‘Action in Venezuela justified but authoritarian regime remains’: John Bolton

Washington DC/New Delhi: Former US National Security Adviser (NSA) John Bolton has backed the US administration's action of extracting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, calling it "in compliance" with international law. However, in an exclusive interview with IANS, he stated that US President Donald Trump has not managed to replace the authoritarian regime so far.

Bolton termed Trump's statement that US oil companies will settle in Venezuela a "fantasy" and also warned against annexing Greenland, stressing that using military action would be a "catastrophic mistake for the United States" and the end of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance. Bolton also spoke about Trump's efforts in ending the war in Ukraine, stating that Trump will pull back from trying to negotiate a deal between Russia and Ukraine, as it's unlikely that there's going to be a settlement that will be acceptable to the people of Ukraine.

Excerpts: IANS: How do you see the US action in Venezuela? It has been criticized a lot and termed as one against the international order...

John Bolton: I think we were fully in compliance with international law. We had the support of the legitimate opposition of Venezuela responding to Maduro's holding onto power after having stolen the 2024 presidential election, which all neutral observers, Venezuelan and international, confirmed. By the way, he also stole the election in 2018 when we supported the interim president, Juan Guaido, in his effort to overthrow Maduro. I think it's important to understand that background because many people say that it's a precedent for other activities like Russia's invasion of Ukraine or China's invasion of Taiwan. It absolutely is not. But the problem is that Trump hasn't really changed the regime. He's extracted Maduro, but the authoritarian regime remains in place. And it's very confusing because in comments Trump made on Saturday, he appears to be prepared to deal with the regime just so long as Maduro is not there.

IANS: How do you see the future implications of such a move?

John Bolton: I think it is a mistake ever to generalize what Trump does. He doesn’t operate from the basis of coherent philosophy or national security strategy. It's very transactional. In this case, he appears to be worried about getting access to Venezuelan oil. That obviously doesn't follow in many other circumstances. So, I think at this early stage, with a lot still unknown, I'd be very hesitant to draw broader conclusions about what he may do elsewhere.

IANS: President Trump has said the US oil companies will settle in Venezuela and make money. How do you see his statement?

John Bolton: I think it's a fantasy. The fact is that over 30 years of the Chavez-Maduro dictatorship in Venezuela, they have run the oil infrastructure of the country, the pumping, the transmission, and the loading of the oil. They've taken all that infrastructure and degraded it very severely. So, to get significant increases in Venezuela's export capacity, you need billions and billions of dollars of investment over a long period of time. This is not something you can turn on and off like a light switch. So, I think American and other foreign oil companies looking at a very uncertain political situation in Venezuela are going to be very hesitant about making extensive capital commitments until they know much more. And I don't know when that point will come. (IANS)

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