The United States Cannot End Venezuela's Crisis

The United States wants to get involved in Venezuela's economic crisis while it still might be able to shape the direction of events. It signaled as much April 7, when it dispatched U.S. State Department Counselor Thomas Shannon to Caracas to meet with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and members of Venezuela's political opposition. Then, on April 11 at the seventh Summit of the Americas held in Panama, Maduro met privately with U.S. President Barack Obama. But even were Washington to intercede by brokering a negotiation between the government and its opponents — perhaps fostering a coalition government — the outcome of Venezuela's crisis depends first and foremost on domestic political and economic factors.