No more,Maduro

THE EDITOR: I have taken in the debate about Venezuela and can appreciate that both sides have made a good case for either backing the incumbent President Nicolas Maduro or the leader of the National Assembly, Juan Guaido.

Of course, the main argument put forward by Maduro’s backers is the long-standing diplomatic principal of non-interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation.

However, when the leader of a supposedly democratic country carries out a long-term campaign of effectively turning his formerly democratic republic into an out and out dictatorship by subverting every institution of democracy, including the supreme court, arbitrarily arresting and imprisoning large numbers of opposition figures, blatantly rigging presidential elections and looting billions of dollars from the national treasury, it is time to say “no mas.”

Because of his purchased military support, the transition of power may come at a significant cost, but to have a Venezuelan President continue in office after committing all of the above crimes and now enjoying the support of only 20 per cent of his people would be a travesty.

GREGORY WIGHT, Maraval