Experts highlight that Donald Trump's inaugural speech was focused on internal US affairs and consider that he has not yet defined his policy towards Venezuela. Other topics, such as the war in Ukraine and relations with China, were also ignored in the inauguration speech, they say.
US President Donald Trump left out his inauguration speech to Venezuela, a former trading partner that remains mired in a prolonged political, electoral and human rights crisis. Coincidence, indifference, an unimportant omission? Political science experts analyze it.
“It is notable that Trump has directed his threats to friendly countries like Mexico and Panama, and that he seems reluctant to engage in conversations about adversaries like Venezuela,” said Benjamin Gedan, director of the Latin America program at the think tank The Wilson Center, in conversation. with the Voice of America.
Trump, 78, said at the Washington Capitol that he was beginning a “golden age” for his country with his return to the Presidency. The Republican, who led the United States between 2017 and 2021, stressed that his “top priority” would be “to create a proud, prosperous and free nation,” in addition to stopping irregular immigration and putting “the United States first.”
He reiterated his campaign promises that he would reclaim the Panama Canal and rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. He also noted that he would impose tariffs and taxes on foreign products and other countries.
Venezuela, a country whose government he ignored and applied economic sanctions during his first presidency, got no mentions from Trump in his speech, however. Trump admitted six years ago that his intention was to remove Nicolás Maduro from power.
Those policies included offers of million-dollar rewards for Maduro and his collaborators, criminal accusations against him for alleged drug trafficking, and broad sanctions against his energy industry and individuals against human rights violators.
“It may be that he is not convinced that the policy of maximum pressure should be repeated in his second term, but that he does not yet have an alternative in mind,” he told the VOA Gedan, about the omission of Venezuela in his speech.
A route, an invitation
Although he did not expressly mention Venezuela in his inauguration words, “there is no doubt” that Trump has this regional crisis present in the design of his foreign policy, according to retired ambassador and diplomacy expert Milos Alcalay.
Also read: “We'll probably stop buying oil from Venezuela,” Trump said
The invitation to opposition leader Edmundo González to his inauguration – Republican Senator Rick Scott invited him – as well as his allusions to the energy issue, immigration, the fight against the criminal gang the Tren de Aragua and the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking , show Trump's interest in the Venezuelan crisis, he estimates.
Spokesmen for the Venezuelan ruling party drew attention to the fact that González, who claims victory in the July presidential election based on the voting records presented by the opposition, has not been able to meet face to face with Trump in recent weeks and during the investiture ceremony.
“I've looked to see if I can see a photo and I haven't been able to see” González next to Trump, Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, also vice president of the ruling party, said Monday. “It makes me very sad that they don't even focus on it,” he mocked.
“We will have to wait for the development of his positions and executive orders, which directly affect relations with Venezuela, where he proposes a route that will define an important contribution to the international scene,” said Alcalay, for his part.
Later on Monday, at the White House, Trump said he was evaluating Venezuela “with great interest” along with his government team. “Let's see what happens with Venezuela. It is a country that I know very well for many reasons and it was a wonderful country 20 years ago and now it is a disaster,” he told the press.
Gedan believes that it is “a striking sign” that opposition leader Edmundo González has not met Trump. “That said, there are several advisors in his inner circle who prefer a tough policy” from the United States against the Maduro government, he said.
Focus on the US
Trump gave a speech focused “more on the North American population than on international politics,” despite his mentions of Mexico and Panama, according to Venezuelan international relations expert Juan Francisco Contreras, for his part.
“Basically he dedicated himself to internal issues to generate a feeling that things are going to change for the better in the US, that he is a kind of person elected to the presidency to rescue American pride and the greatness of the US on the planet,” he comments.
Not only did he omit Venezuela, Contreras points out. “Other important issues, such as relations with Europe, the Russian invasion of Ukraine or the relationship with China were not specifically mentioned” by the American dignitary, he emphasizes.
“It is not worrying” for the opposition to the Maduro government that he has not mentioned Venezuela “in a speech focused on him and what his second presidency will mean for the future of the United States,” Contreras judges.
Trump did later refer to Venezuela when speaking with journalists in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday night, while signing dozens of executive orders on immigration, technology, energy and combating organized crime, among other issues.
“We are probably going to stop buying oil from Venezuela, we don't need its oil,” he said, hours after his speech upon assuming the presidency.
According to US government figures, Venezuela exported an average of 295,000 barrels of crude oil per day to the North American country last October. These businesses were banned between May 2019 and January 2023.
Maduro and senior officials in his government, such as Cabello, have expressed their willingness to mend relations with the United States during the Trump presidency.
Marco Rubio, confirmed on Monday by the Senate as the new Secretary of State, in his confirmation hearing described the Venezuelan government as “a drug trafficking organization that has been empowered by the national State” and announced that they would review the oil businesses authorized by the previous administration. .