Maduro Needs the Military

By Harold Trinkunas

Harold Trinkunas is the Charles W. Robinson Chair and senior fellow and director of the Latin America Initiative in the Foreign Policy program at The Brookings Institution. His research focuses on Latin American politics, particularly on issues related to foreign policy, governance, and security. Trinkunas is the author of Crafting Civilian Control of the Military in Venezuela." He was born in Maracaibo and raised in Caracas, Venezuela.

As demonstrators spread through Venezuela’s capital Caracas yesterday demanding a recall referendum of President Nicolás Maduro, the military, notably, did not suppress the demonstrations. The Cipher Brief’s Kaitlin Lavinder spoke with Harold Trinkunas, the Director of the Latin America Initiative at the Brookings Institution, about the Venezuelan military and its power as a stabilizing or destabilizing force.

The Cipher Brief: What was the role of the military in Venezuela under former President Hugo Chávez? How has that changed, or has it remained the same under current President Nicolás Maduro? 



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