Team Biden's Foreign Policy Blunders Keep Piling Up, Inching Closer to U.S.
Have you ever lifted sanctions on a rogue nation only to watch them unleash a bloodbath afterwards? Have you ever reversed the policies of your predecessor and seen the situation blow up in your face?
If this sounds familiar, you're not alone; these scenarios are about to replay — again — for President Joe Biden as Venezuela teeters on the brink of chaos — and potential civil war — following an election widely regarded by the international community as rigged by dictator Nicolás Maduro.
In October 2023, following 18 months of intense negotiations, the Biden-Harris administration announced the lifting of sanctions on Venezuelan gold and oil exports for six months, as well as on secondary trading of government bonds.
Ostensibly, this was in exchange for the Maduro regime’s release of five political prisoners and its commitment to free and fair elections.
However, these concessions, which rolled back Trump-era sanctions, were primarily made to facilitate the purchase of Venezuelan oil in an attempt to lower gas prices and salvage the "Bidenomics" trainwreck.
Unfortunately, in their haste, the Biden-Harris Administration forgot to impose any international monitoring, legal frameworks, or transparency measures on Venezuelan elections — offering just a wink and a nod to get the oil flowing.
A former senior U.S. official described the concessions as "almost breathtaking in their generosity," according to the Financial Times.
At the time, the Venezuelan opposition warned that the U.S. officials were naive to believe Maduro intended to hold competitive elections and that easing sanctions would only boost a "criminal bonanza."
The Biden-Harris State Department quickly dismissed those concerns, insisting an agreement with a "new incentive structure" was in place, under which the Maduro Regime no longer needed to sell its energy products on the black market, purportedly making operations more lucrative and aligning interests.
A weak assurance, as even an anonymous congressional source admitted to the Financial Times that "We’re really just trying to draw a line in the sand, so you don’t see further authoritarian drift" — a strategy that presumably follows the diplomatic tradition of Obama’s red line in Syria.
This is becoming a time-honored tradition indeed.
Recall that in September 2023, one month before easing sanctions on Venezuela, the Biden-Harris administration approved the release of $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets, in a deal that swapped five Iranian prisoners for five Americans held in Iran.
Biden’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) coordinator, Brett McGurk, assured the world that the funds would be strictly used for humanitarian purposes.
Yet, just one month later, Iran-backed Hamas launched the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, sparking the ongoing conflict.
Now, as tensions escalate in Venezuela, the global community grows increasingly concerned about the potential for civil war.
In the run-up to the elections, Maduro promised a literal bloodbath if he lost — not a metaphorical one like Trump’s prediction of job losses in the auto industry causing so much faux outrage, but actual violence in the streets.
Once again, like in Iran, Biden’s attempts to appease brutal dictatorships have backfired.
Only now, the consequences are unfolding just over 1,300 miles away in Venezuela, roughly half the distance between Los Angeles and New York.
As with the Southern border, Biden’s impulsive decisions to reverse Trump-era policies have come back to haunt him — and the American people.
In a move reminiscent of his reversal on border policy, the Biden-Harris administration reinstated sanctions on Venezuela last April, only to discover it was already too late.
As political tensions rise, the risk of massive illegal immigration from Venezuela looms, a situation long acknowledged by policymakers and the media alike.
Despite this, Biden’s "border czar" — Vice President Kamala Harris — has largely focused on other issues, like abortion, instead of addressing "intractable issues like migration," as reported by the Associated Press.
To make matters worse, Maduro is regarded as Vladimir Putin’s greatest ally in the continent, with Venezuela and Russia increasingly cooperating in areas such as oil and gas, weapons, and military drills over the few years.
Last December, the Venezuelan dictator successfully held a national referendum seeking authorization to annex the oil-rich Essequibo region from neighboring Guyana — a disputed territory spanning over 53,000 square miles, about the size of Alabama.
Since the referendum, Venezuela has continued to deploy troops and weapons and build military infrastructure near the Guyanese border.
In response, last May, two U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornets conducted a flyover over Georgetown, the capital of Guyana, and its surrounding areas.
An action intended as a demonstration of strength and support from Washington.
However, a message far more significant than that conveyed by the two fighter jets flying over Guyana emerges from analyzing recent events, from the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan to the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and the looming threat of civil war in Venezuela: the foreign policy blunders of the Biden-Harris administration are not only piling up but also increasingly inching closer to home.
Cauf Skiviers writes about philosophy, economics, politics, and things that lie between the inconceivable and the undesirable. His reports also appear at: https://cauf.substack.com. Read more of Cauf Skiviers' reports here.