The recent sanctions imposed by the United States against Venezuela are aimed at slowly eroding the government of Nicolás Maduro, according to the international affairs analyst at CNN Lourival Sant’Anna.
He explains that these measures, announced on Thursday (12), are part of a strategy of gradual pressure on the Venezuelan regime.
Lourival emphasizes that sanctions alone do not have the power to bring about immediate changes in Maduro’s behavior. “Sanctions do not have that power, especially because they are breached and violated. Other countries provide Venezuela with escape valves, such as Brazil, Colombia, China, Russia, and Iran,” the analyst said.
The expert points out that Maduro’s regime has been under construction for 25 years and its dismantling will take considerable time. One of the main obstacles is the control that the government exercises over the armed forces, holding a monopoly on force in the country.
“It is a regime that has captured the armed forces. Venezuelans are a peaceful people, they do not want any more bloodshed than what has already happened, with hundreds of people killed by the regime in demonstrations that are harshly repressed,” explains Lourival.
Gradual attrition strategy
Faced with this scenario, the international community has opted for an approach of slow and continuous erosion. Lourival compares this strategy to the effect of wind on a rock: “It’s as if it were a rock and the wind slowly wears it away. So it really does take a long time, but it needs to be done, otherwise it will take even longer and the regime will act with more freedom.”
Recent sanctions include asset freezes and visa restrictions for regime-linked individuals who contributed to electoral fraud.
Although these may seem like mild measures, Lourival argues that they have a significant impact on the Venezuelan elite: “It may seem like little, but for the Venezuelan elite it is hard not to be able to go and buy the latest generation iPhones, go shopping, go out, spend money and go to restaurants in New York.”
Preventing the worsening of the humanitarian crisis
The analyst also addresses the issue of broader economic sanctions, warning of the risks of exacerbating the suffering of the Venezuelan population. Citing the example of Cuba, he argues that severe economic sanctions could be counterproductive, providing the Maduro regime with an excuse for the country’s economic woes.
“Cuba has been under American sanctions, under the American embargo since the 1960s, and the regime is standing there and using this embargo to explain the total dysfunctionality of the Cuban economy,” the analyst exemplifies, highlighting that the real economic problems of both Cuba and Venezuela are more related to the state-led economic model than to international sanctions.
This content was originally published in Analysis: Sanctions against Venezuela are like wind on a rock on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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