Trump Administration tells US citizens to flee Venezuela after destabilizing it
Breaking a country and then warning Americans to run is real leadership.
As armed militias take control of the streets, the U.S. State Department has issued an urgent warning telling American citizens to leave Venezuela immediately. Amid the rapidly deteriorating security situation, convicted felon Donald Trump has taken to social media to style himself the nation’s “acting president,” a title that exists nowhere in law or reality.
In a security alert sent out on Saturday, the state department said there were reports of armed members of pro-regime militias, known as colectivos, setting up roadblocks and searching vehicles for evidence that the occupants were US citizens or supporters of the country.
“US citizens in Venezuela should remain vigilant and exercise caution when traveling by road,” the alert added, urging citizens to depart immediately now that some international flights from Venezuela have restarted.
Speaking to the New York Times last week, Donald Trump said he would like to visit Venezuela in the future after having claimed the US was “running” the South American country after removing its leaders with a deadly night-time assault on Caracas. “I think at some point it’ll be safe,” the US president told reporters.
According to the advisory, armed paramilitary groups are stopping vehicles, checking documents, and operating with little oversight. The State Department says it cannot provide consular assistance and urges Americans to get out while commercial flights are still available. This is the predictable aftermath of an intervention sold as strength and delivered as chaos. Trump has tipped this country into uncertainty and now leaves Americans scrambling to extricate themselves before the consequences hit.
What makes this moment especially surreal is the disconnect between rhetoric and responsibility. While Americans are told to flee for their safety, Trump has been circulating posts and imagery claiming authority over Venezuela, as if declaring oneself in charge is a substitute for governance, stability, or accountability. It is hard to square evacuation warnings with fantasies of control, except as a reminder that bravado travels faster than consequences.
Breaking a country and then warning Americans to run is real leadership. Seems a long way to go for a distraction from those Epstein files we still haven’t seen.
It's not true to say that the administration didn't actually make any kind of long-term plan that went beyond "Grab the bad guy". They have a plan, which involves using their new leverage over Venezuela to bring down the government of Cuba as well. But I don't know if their planning goes much further than that, or if they know what they're going to do once they've destabilized a good chunk of Central America.
But then again, destabilizing large parts of the Middle East worked out great for everyone involved, so why worry?
This seems pretty on-brand for this administration: if they break something and then course correct, they take credit for the recovery but don't admit they are the ones who broke it in the first place. if they break something and then go on to inflame an already bad situation, well...you are on your own, citizen.