The current administration's play in Venezuela seems pretty straightforward: first, remove Maduro from power. Check—that part's already in motion. Second, install a new regime that's at least manageable and cooperative. Honestly? That's looking doable too.

But here's the catch. Nobody's expecting genuinely free and fair elections to happen anytime soon if this geopolitical strategy is going to work. There's a fundamental tension—you can't really have both a "pliant" regime *and* truly democratic elections. One cancels the other out.