In a new paper, former U.S. Ambassador to Colombia P. Michael McKinley examines the record of Juan Guaidó and Venezuela’s interim government. McKinley, who served as a senior adviser to the U.S. secretary of state when Venezuelan lawmakers appointed Guaidó interim president, writes that the interim government was constitutional and attracted unprecedented international recognition, though it ultimately failed to dislodge Nicolás Maduro. That outcome, he writes, had less to do with the limitations of the opposition or U.S. policy choices than the capacity of an authoritarian regime to withstand domestic and international pressure.
About the Author
P. Michael McKinley
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
