More than two months after President Donald Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran, taken in the shadow of his military intervention in Venezuela, the contrast between the two is hard to ignore. One intervention is drifting into uncertainty, while the other is settling into something easily described as a success.
As the shaky ceasefire between the United States and Iran makes a lasting peace treaty seem like a distant dream, the idea that Iran might follow Venezuela’s path now feels slightly absurd.
For a moment, it was a compelling story of a quick intervention and a brittle regime collapsing under pressure. But this narrative has stalled. The popular uprising against Iran’s Islamic Republic, which President Trump appeared to anticipate, has not materialized.
Meanwhile, in Caracas, the outcome is very different and looks remarkably durable. Polling carried out by AtlasIntel and Bloomberg shows that nearly 80% of Venezuelans think their country is the same or better off now than under Maduro.
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