USA and Russia in contrast to Venezuela

Parallel to the issue of Venezuela, a confrontation is taking place between the USA and Russia which is taking on increasingly exasperated tones. Within the crisis of the South American country, Washington and Moscow face off in an attempt to gain positions in the geopolitical scenario that could take shape. The Caracas government is supported by Russia and China, which, however, is keeping a more secluded profile; the Kremlin's intention is to interrupt US hegemony over South America, while the White house seeks to regain positions by supporting the Venezuelan opposition. In the past few days there has been an amateurish conduct by the actors involved: the opposition has tried to implement a clumsy coup, judged too reckless by the Americans themselves, declaring that they were only protests, the government has assured that it will lead to prison the protagonists of the protest, highlighting that they do not know how to handle the situation: this is part of a tragic dialectic within the Venezuelan country, where profound uncertainty reigns, and at the expense is a population with no more points of reference and at the end due to the lack of food and medicines. Even on the international level, however, the USA and Russia have abandoned the necessary caution that would be necessary to guarantee a prudent management of the crisis. The United States has threatened a force action within the Venezuelan country, officially to restore democracy, in reality to accelerate the defeat of the incumbent government and return to influence the South American country. It was a rash move and probably only a threat without a follow-up, if one has to see the reluctance shown by the Trump administration to engage American soldiers directly on the ground outside the USA. Certainly Venezuela is closer to the United States than Syria or the territory invaded by the Islamic State and it is also a strategic country due to its oil resources, but the American threat seems only such because of the trend demonstrated so far by Trump. However, such a blatant threat could not but arouse the Russian reaction and represented an opportunity not to be wasted on the Kremlin, to confront Washington on the ground of threats. What makes Moscow's reaction equally unlikely was to appeal to a violation of international law by a country that broke it several times. In any case, the two superpowers are experiencing a period of the most tense, so much so that some analysts have spoken openly about a cold war climate. To the possible serious consequences threatened by the Russian foreign minister, the response of the American counterpart was just as harsh, warning Moscow to stop the activities Russia is carrying out to support the Caracas government, but the heaviest criticism was that of endanger bilateral relations between Moscow and Washington precisely because of the actions that Russia is putting into practice in Venezuela. The clue is clear: the White House believes that South America is a sort of area of ​​its own exclusive influence and intends to recover Venezuela by favoring the opposition and the discontent of the country for an administration incapable of managing the economic and political crisis. If the solution is a democratic election capable of bringing clarity, the outcome is far from obvious: the opposition gains support, but the government still has a substantial part of the electorate on its side and, above all, holds power over the bureaucracy and administrative centers in the country. This evaluation could be part of the option of an American military intervention, based above all on the Venezuelan government's ability to alter the conduct and the election results. However, even just threatening this eventuality has created a very strong tension that should favor international management where diplomacy should have the greatest role. The Russian reaction must also be explained by the irritation over American action that could be responsible for the economic disaster in the country, which could lead to the fall of the Caracas government, an impossible capacity for Moscow, which must highlight its threats, as a sort of compensation for the scarce capacity to counter American pressure on the Venezuelan economy.