Has President Trump made a historic mistake in Venezuela?

On his new program, Switzerland, Tom Switzer challenges John Bolton and John Mearsheimer on the Trump administration’s move to remove Nicolás Maduro from power. Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, argues the operation is justified if it delivers real regime change. Mearsheimer, the University of Chicago political scientist, warns the intervention makes no strategic sense and risks dangerous precedents.

Is President Trump willing to settle for Maduro 2.0? Does Venezuela mark a break from the post-war liberal order? Will Beijing and Moscow draw lessons for Taiwan and Ukraine? Can Washington control Venezuela’s oil without nation-building? And how does this intervention square with Trump’s promise to avoid foreign entanglements?

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Tom Switzer is a journalist and broadcaster who has been a prolific commentator on politics and international affairs. His writing and commentary have appeared in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The Australian, and across ABC and Sky News, where he has been a regular presenter and panellist. For 30 years, since 1995, he has worked at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, the London-based Spectator magazine, and the Sydney-based Centre for Independent Studies, which he headed from 2017 to 2025. He is the host of Switzerland, a long-form interview series exploring global politics, modern history, and the ideas shaping the world.