Trump has reportedly lost interest in regime change in Venezuela. John Bolton has not.

Trump and National Security Adviser John Bolton

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 20 June 2019

"Last winter, the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro seemed a sure bet to President Trump, a quick foreign policy win at a time when other initiatives in Asia and the Middle East appeared stalled or headed in the wrong direction," The Washington Post reports. Since a U.S. backed uprising led by opposition leader Juan Guaidó fizzled in April, senior administration officials tell the Post, Trump "is losing both patience and interest in Venezuela."

Trump is clearly frustrated about Venezuela, a foreign policy issue he "always thought of ... as low-hanging fruit" on which he "could get a win and tout it as a major foreign policy victory," one former Trump administration official involved in Venezuela policy tells the Post. Now Trump rarely talks about Venezuela in public and his Twitter account has dropped all mentions of the country, save for one tweet earlier this month in which he claimed "Russia has informed us that they have removed most of their people from Venezuela," the Post notes. Russia denied both leaving Venezuela and talking about leaving Venezuela with the Trump administration, and "it was never mentioned again."

In private, Trump "chewed out his staff" about the failed Venezuela regime change, blaming National Security Adviser John Bolton and his Latin America policy director Mauricio Claver-Carone for getting "played" by both Guaidó and key Maduro figures, current and former administration officials tell the Post. Some current officials disputed that characterization of Trump's reaction and said his Venezuela policy was always long-term and is on track. But Maduro appears safely ensconced in the presidential residence, the Post says, and "while Trump appears to have withdrawn from the fray, Bolton tweets about Venezuela more than on any other foreign policy issue," and he's still bullish on thwarting Maduro.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.