Ties to the Bolivarian Revolution

By Ambassador Patrick Duddy

Patrick Duddy, a retired U.S. diplomat, served as the U.S Ambassador to Venezuela as well as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere.  He is now a Senior Advisor for Global Affairs at Duke University.

Venezuelan opposition leaders and other anti-government protestors flooded to the capital Caracas yesterday to demand a recall referendum on President Nicolás Maduro sometime this year. The military, while prepared to quell any violence, did nothing to suppress the protests. The Cipher Brief’s Kaitlin Lavinder spoke with former U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela Patrick Duddy (2007-2010), who is now the Director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Duke University, about the Venezuelan military’s role in the country.

The Cipher Brief: What was the role of the Venezuelan military under former President Hugo Chávez? How has this role developed under President Nicolás Maduro’s presidency?

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