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A Nobel question: Should Venezuela's democracy be saved by Trump's military?

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Peaceful Path: Venezuelan democracy champion and now Nobel peace laureate Maria Corina Machado at a rally in Caracas on July 4, 2024, during the campaign of opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, who vote tallies confirmed defeated Venezuela's dictatorship, which then stole the election.
Ariana Cubillos
/
AP
Peaceful Path: Venezuelan democracy champion and now Nobel peace laureate Maria Corina Machado at a rally in Caracas on July 4, 2024, during the campaign of opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, who vote tallies confirmed defeated Venezuela's dictatorship, which then stole the election.

Opinion: María Corina Machado deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for leading Venezuela’s nonviolent democracy movement — but what does it mean if that effort’s success relies on a U.S. military incursion?

Machado’s win took place hours after President Donald Trump announced his Gaza peace deal – a combination that shows the power of the peaceful path. On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett says there is a “dissonance between the concord we hope is emerging in the rubble of Gaza and the conflict we know is brewing in the waters off Venezuela.”

He argues that any military incursion into Venezuela could send the region the message that, in the end, nonviolent democracy efforts matter less than the promise of yanqui military salvation.

You can watch the video for this and other Americas Decoded commentaries on WLRN’s YouTube channel on youtube.com/@WLRN or on WLRN.org/Decoded. You can read Tim’s digital commentary along with WLRN’s coverage of Americas news on WLRN.org/americas. Sign up for the Americas Report newsletter on WLRN.org/newsletters. WLRN is South Florida’s NPR member station.