No, that's not what I'm saying. Leave this cheap moralising about "evil" out of it: it just obscures the real forces at work. This is all about realpolitik and economic interests.
I used “evil” as shorthand. The point was that you simultaneously criticise
both the US for acting out of selfish self interest
and Europe for not doing so. All in service of your premise that there are only economic and realpolitik factors at play, rather than values.
The simple reality is that it's both. Of course the US has held its nose and looked the other way when convenient. But unless you believe states should intervene in nothing, never (still waiting for
@camberiu to clarify just how far he would take this position), then if ever there was a case to intervene in a failed state, Venezuela is it. Maybe Somalia too.
Ah. Why is it of "little relevance"? Because you say so? Okay, got it. But Maduro's unpopularity is of great relevance to the "international community." Got it.
No, not because I say so. I said exactly why in the next sentence, which you incomprehensibly cut out of the quote.
Macron’s popularity or lack thereof in France will be pretty outcome-determinative in due time. That's how democracy works.
If Venezuela had a functioning mechanism for democratically removing presidents, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
You can dispute my assertion that there is no democracy in Venezuela - you‘d be wrong, see below - but to say that France can deal with its own problems because I “say so” makes no sense.
How come? Other than you just baldly asserting it? The last elections were, according to outside observers, run fairly.
Look, I've no brief for Maduro. But to reiterate, his party -- according to outside observers -- got elected fair and square.
Really? According to what observers? The vast majority of the world, including the UN, didn't even bother sending observers. Is this because Maduro was so universally popular so as to make any other result impossible? Or may other factors have been at play?
The major opposition leaders were disqualified on various grounds from running. Never mind that
people caught on video so much as protesting are then murdered in their homes by shadow paramilitary forces. Layoffs and violence were reported to be threatened routinely as retribution for opposing Maduro. Never mind that all opposition television has long been shut down. In what universe is that called elections being run fairly?
Or should we also say Trump is a mendacious moron who never got a plurality of the vote and Hillary should declare herself president?
Note that precisely no one says that. Not Hillary, not the Democrats. Notwithstanding that the Electoral College is an anachronism which should be abolished, everyone accepted that the supremacy of the constitutional order is more important than any single race, even if going forward there are aspects that need change. And the losers accept gracefully.
Lord knows there are many things about the US political system that deserve criticism and need fixing. But if you are trying to compare it unfavorably to Venezuela's, you are delusional and no serious argument can be had with you.