NO WAY FORWARD
A standoff at Venezuela’s border reflects a crisis in stasis
A SENSE OF IMPENDING CLIMAX followed Juan Guaidó from Venezuela’s capital city to its western border on Feb. 21–22. The young opposition leader is one of two people who claim to be President of the failing petrostate. And at regular intervals on the 500-mile road trip, his caravan pushed through checkpoints manned by the army that answers to the other—Nicolás Maduro, who still clings stubbornly to the presidency after ostensibly winning re-election in a ballot widely seen as stolen.
At each roadblock, the contest for control of Venezuela played out in miniature. Guaidó may be recognized as the legitimate ruler by more than 50 nations, including the U.S. But control of
