So what happens if they lose patience? Will they bring "democratic standards" to Venezuela just as they did to Iraq?

THE U.S. IS RESPONSIBLE FOR POVERTY IN VENEZUELA

In Turkey, various groups oppose the relationship between Erdoğan and Maduro for different reasons. Some do so out of reactionary motives, others due to Atlanticism, some are influenced by media propaganda, and some simply because of the poor economy in Venezuela. Of course, one might not like Maduro's administration, find his policies inadequate or negative, but blaming him solely for the current poverty in Venezuela is unfair.

The primary cause of the hardship in Venezuela is the U.S., which has imposed blockades, made it difficult for the country to sell its oil, seized oil-laden tankers, and confiscated gold reserves. The imperialist U.S. has done everything possible to ensure Venezuela's economy collapses and Chávez's program fails. Let’s recall a few examples:

• The U.S. seized an Iranian cargo plane sold to Venezuela at an Argentine airport.
• The U.S. attempted to sabotage a Venezuelan oil refinery to prevent oil production and deter any companies from operating in Venezuela.
• The U.S. seized Venezuelan oil tankers.
• The UK confiscated $1.8 billion worth of gold from Venezuela’s reserves at the Bank of England.
• Throughout this period, the U.S. also made several coup attempts but failed.

THE REAL REASON FOR U.S. HOSTILITY

What is the U.S.'s problem with Venezuela? Chávez's public program prevented U.S. imperialist companies from exploiting the country. Despite all difficulties, Maduro continues this program. Hence, the U.S. opposes Maduro not because there is no democracy, but because it cannot exploit the country.

In reality, the U.S. does not have democratic standards; it has interests. The U.S. doesn't seek "democratic standards" in countries ruled by monarchies without elections, yet it criticizes Venezuela, where elections are held, for not meeting these standards!

Currently, the U.S.'s most important ally in South America is Argentina because its President Javier Milei is staunchly pro-American. Milei ran his campaign opposing China and Russia and won with significant U.S. support. Now, he is repaying this support by openly calling for the Venezuelan Armed Forces to overthrow Maduro.

So, an Argentine leader like Milei, who calls for a coup in Venezuela, meets the U.S.'s "democratic standards," but Venezuela's Maduro, who tries to protect his country from imperialist exploitation, does not!

IMPOSING DEMOCRACY IS UNDEMOCRATIC

Speaking of democratic standards... The U.S. is one of the countries with the most undemocratic elections. Having only two parties running in elections is not democracy. They have a system where they can overthrow the winner of an election through a coup if necessary. The recent history of how Al Gore's victory was handed over to Bush, without even allowing a challenge, is well known.

The two-party system in the U.S. is deceptive. The system is undemocratic because only those who can raise the most funds can become presidential candidates. Naturally, those who fund the candidates expect something in return. Here’s a recent example: LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman donated $10 million to Harris’s election campaign and listed his conditions for more on CNN. One condition is for Harris to fire Lina Khan, the head of the Federal Trade Commission. Why? Because the commission is currently investigating Microsoft’s board, on which Hoffman sits.

To return to our topic: The U.S. has no democratic standards, only interests. Even if a country had high democratic standards, imposing these on other countries is undemocratic. Every country's democracy issues are its internal problems. Therefore, viewing countries under U.S. attack, like Venezuela, solely from an election-democracy perspective influenced by Atlantic media is misleading.