Maduro Caused the Disaster

He and Chávez created the crisis in Venezuela, not Trump

Letter to The WSJ. 

"Regarding Quico Toro’s essay “Another U.S. Attempt to Topple Maduro Would Be a Disaster” (Review, Nov. 8): Venezuela’s economic collapse and migratory crisis began in 2013, at least four years before the U.S. imposed broad U.S. sanctions. From 2013 onward, Venezuela experienced the highest inflation rate in the world and a precipitous decline in gross domestic product, driven directly by the devastating economic policies of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, including widespread nationalizations, reckless monetary and fiscal policies and the implementation of universal price and currency controls.

Mr. Toro neglects the consequences of the Biden administration’s policy of accommodation. Far from improving conditions, diplomatic passivity has allowed the government to dig in its heels, intensifying repression and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.

Leading Americans to believe that President Trump collapsed the Venezuelan economy is another way to whitewash the policies of Mr. Maduro’s regime.

Jorge Jraissati

Boca Raton, Fla.

Mr. Jraissati is president of the Economic Inclusion Group."