President Donald Trump is working through acting President Delcy Rodriguez in Venezuela rather than immediately installing the opposition. This has generated some criticism that Trump will preserve the Chavista regime.

Recent developments suggest otherwise.

Addressing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee recently, Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that “This is not a frozen dinner. You don’t put it in a microwave, and two and a half minutes later it’s ready.” Rubio admitted the current Venezuelan leadership includes figures who fall outside U.S. democratic standards. But he argued that Washington is engaging those who control key state institutions as part of what he described as a transition toward political stabilization.

Washington’s approach reflects hard lessons. The 2003 invasion of Iraq dissolved state institutions and purged government structures, fueling sectarian violence. The rapid overthrow of the Taliban did not prevent 20 years of grinding war in Afghanistan, nor the organization’s eventual return. The 2011 intervention in Libya led to a civil war that continues today.

In Venezuela,........

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