US Readies Legal Endgame for Maduro, Says Oracle Advisory Group’s Vlada Galan

International

oi-Pankaj Mishra

In
an
interview
with
Oneindia,
geopolitical
expert
Vlada
Galan,
Partner
at
the
Oracle
Advisory
Group,
outlined
what
she
described
as
an
inevitable
American
move
to
put
Venezuelan
President
Nicolás
Maduro
on
trial.
According
to
Galan,
Washington’s
strategy
has
moved
beyond
diplomatic
pressure
and
sanctions,
and
is
now
firmly
rooted
in
a
legal
and
security
framework
aimed
at
dismantling
the
current
power
structure
in
Caracas.

Galan
argued
that
the
grounds
for
a
potential
trial
are
clear
from
the
US
perspective.
Any
actions
by
Maduro
that
are
deemed
to
have
directly
harmed
American
interests
would
form
the
legal
basis
of
prosecution.
She
pointed
specifically
to
long-standing
allegations
involving
narcotics
trafficking
and
arms-related
networks,
which
US
agencies
have
repeatedly
linked
to
the
Venezuelan
leadership.
In
this
context,
she
maintained,
the
charges
are
not
symbolic
but
form
part
of
a
broader
enforcement
doctrine.

One
of
the
more
striking
assertions
made
during
the
interview
with
Oneindia
News
Editor
Pankaj
Mishra
was
Galan’s
view
that
the
method
used
to
capture
or
detain
Maduro
would
be
“immaterial” in
legal
terms.
From
Washington’s
standpoint,
she
said,
the
focus
would
be
on
the
charges
and
outcomes,
not
the
optics
of
how
custody
is
secured.
This,
she
suggested,
reflects
a
hardened
US
posture
in
dealing
with
regimes
it
considers
hostile
or
criminally
compromised.

Contrary
to
popular
assumptions,
Galan
dismissed
oil
as
the
central
driver
of
US
actions
in
Venezuela.
While
acknowledging
the
country’s
vast
energy
reserves,
she
stressed
that
strategic
security
considerations
and
enforcement
of
US
law
outweigh
purely
economic
interests.
“Oil
is
not
the
real
issue
anymore,” she
noted,
pointing
instead
to
narcotics
routes,
regional
instability,
and
the
credibility
of
US
deterrence.

Looking
ahead,
Galan
predicted
that
a
new
interim
government
would
be
installed
in
Venezuela
once
Maduro
is
removed
from
the
equation.
Such
a
transition,
she
said,
would
be
backed
by
the
US
and
aligned
regional
actors,
framed
as
a
stabilising
measure
rather
than
a
regime-change
experiment.

She
also
defended
Washington’s
approach
in
unequivocal
terms,
stating
that
the
US
has
an
inherent
right
to
defend
its
national
interests
and
that
this
“line
should
not
be
questioned.”
Expanding
the
Latin
American
lens,
Galan
added
that
Colombia
is
also
likely
to
vote
for
political
change,
signalling
a
broader
shift
in
Latin
American
politics
that
could
further
isolate
Caracas.