Benghazi Venezuela...

Benghazi hangs over U.S. decision to leave diplomats in Venezuela

Former officials are saying the move endangers American lives in the unstable country.

By NAHAL TOOSI

The Trump administration’s decision to leave U.S. diplomats in Venezuela — despite orders from the unstable country’s ruling regime — is drawing criticism from former officials who say it endangers American lives.

Some have even warned President Donald Trump that he could face a crisis similar to the 2012 deaths of American diplomats in Benghazi, Libya — a tragedy Trump used to slam former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton en route to the White House.

“It is a dangerous game of chicken and risks escalating an already tense and volatile situation in Venezuela,” said Molly Montgomery, a former Foreign Service officer now with the Albright Stonebridge Group.

Late Thursday, the State Department announced that it was ordering the departure of "non-emergency" U.S. personnel and family members of Americans posted to its embassy in Venezuela — effectively downsizing the U.S. diplomatic presence there. The department did not share any statistics on how many diplomats would be affected, but it also urged all U.S. citizens traveling or living in Venezuela to consider leaving.

"We are taking this action based on our current assessment of the security situation in Venezuela," a State Department spokesperson said, adding, however, "We have no plans to close the embassy."

The debate over what to do with U.S. diplomats in the country illustrates the complex road ahead in U.S.-Venezuela relations after the Trump administraton on Wednesday broke ties with the regime of Nicolás Maduro. Under Maduro’s rule, Venezuela’s economy has collapsed, and his regime has faced numerous allegations of corruption. But Maduro still has the backing of most of the country’s security forces.

As anti-Maduro protesters swarmed Venezuelan streets on Wednesday, Trump announced that he no longer recognized Maduro, or his aides, as the country’s rightful leaders. He instead recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó, the head of the country’s National Assembly, as Venezuela’s “interim president.”

Maduro struck back, saying he was cutting off diplomatic and political ties with the United States and that U.S. diplomats had to leave within 72 hours. But Secretary of State Mike Pompeo initially responded that the U.S. is now dealing only with Guaidó, not Maduro, so U.S. diplomats would stay.

The decision prompted bipartisan concern on Capitol Hill.

In a Thursday letter, the leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee asked Pompeo for a regular briefings "on security measures and contingency plans that you are putting in place" to protect diplomats.

"We want to ensure the safety of our diplomats and now allow it to be compromised in order to reiterate the political point that the United States no longer recognizes Maduro's legal authority," wrote panel Chairman Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and ranking member Michael McCaul (R-Texas).

A senior administration official told POLITICO that in the White House’s view, Maduro’s order to expel diplomats “is meaningless.” The administration has urged Maduro and his aides to give up power peacefully, although Trump himself has floated the option of taking military action against the Venezuelan strongman.

"We’re still there," national security adviser John Bolton told reporters at the White House earlier in the day Thursday. "They’ve been invited to stay by the legitimate government, consistent with their safety, that’s our intention."

"We’re working really around the clock here to do what we can to strengthen the new government," he added.

Pompeo also announced the U.S. would send more than $20 million in humanitarian aid to Venezuela — at Guaidó's request — "to help them cope with the severe food and medicine shortages."

"As a friend of the Venezuelan people, we stand ready to help them even more," Pompeo said. "To help them begin the process of rebuilding their country and their economy from the destruction wrought by the criminally incompetent and illegitimate Maduro regime."

Yet Maduro remains defiant. His sway over the country’s military and other security forces has bolstered fears that he might use them against Americans. The anti-Maduro protests this week have already left at least a dozen people dead, according to media reports.

Bolton said the administration was looking at ways of "disconnecting the illegitimate Maduro regime from the source of its revenues." The Trump administration has also connected with allies to discuss other means of boxing in Maduro, he noted.

Meanwhile, in Venezuela, Bolton said diplomatic staff at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas are coordinating with Guaidó on strategy.

It’s not clear how many U.S. diplomats were in Venezuela even before the late Thursday decision to pull some people out. The State Department spokesperson said: "We are monitoring the security situation in real time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We are prepared to do the things we need to do to make sure we keep our people safe."

Before Thursday's ordered departures, the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, issued a security alert that said the “movement of U.S. government personnel will be restricted” to a few neighborhoods. U.S. officials also “have been asked to keep their preschool and school aged children home from school on January 24,” according to the alert on the Embassy’s website.

The U.S. move to end its recognition of Maduro’s government was followed by several other countries, including Canada and Colombia. Notably, Russia and Cuba are sticking with Maduro.

The U.S. decision to keep a diplomatic presence in Venezuela has some prominent backers, including GOP Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, long a critic of the Maduro regime.

“Maduro has no authority to expel anyone,” Rubio tweeted. “And trust me on this one, if Maduro is stupid enough to test @realdonaldtrump by harming any U.S. diplomat, the consequences would be swift & severe.”

As debate flared over what to do, some observers said the U.S. can still maintain its recognition of Guaidó while pulling out its diplomats. Some alluded to the grief Republicans — especially Pompeo, who was a congressman at the time — gave to Clinton and others in the Obama administration over the deaths of four Americans, including an ambassador, in Benghazi.

The Trump administration’s decision to leave diplomats in Venezuela “puts Americans’ lives in danger. Full stop,” tweeted Laura Rosenberger, a former Clinton aide. “And here I thought Republicans cared about the security of our diplomats?”