The Case for Overthrowing Maduro

Donald Trump said Friday that he had "sort of" made up his mind about his plan for Venezuela, but he "can't tell you what it would be." With an aircraft carrier strike group and some 15,000 service personnel deployed to the region, it's sort of hard to imagine that the president's decision will be to stand down and go home.

I've been outspoken in calling on the administration to act against Nicolás Maduro's dictatorship in Caracas — a column I wrote in January ran under the headline "Depose Maduro." With war looming, possibly within days, it's worth making the case again — and thinking through the ways it could go wrong.

Let's take it point by point...