A short time ago, the media ran what appears to have been a fake news story claiming Trump was angry at Machado because she had won and accepted the Nobel Peace Prize.

Two weeks later, she showed up at the White House and presented it to him.

There’s no real rift between them.

Contrary to what some people claim, Trump cannot simply install a new leader in Venezuela and expect things to magically improve in the country or the region.

That approach would be 1) imperialistic and 2) a recipe for disaster—for both her and the Venezuelan people.

The current administration has handled the Venezuela situation in a way that is firm, decisive, astute, and precise.

Firm = naval blockade, ship seizures, boat strikes, etc.
Precise = Maduro Op
Decisive = The State Department, CIA, and White House clearly delineating what will and will not be accepted from this point forward.
Astute = Understanding the dynamics on the ground—in the government, the population, and the region.

Sure, it could all fall apart, and a year from now we might be looking at a civil war or a narco-terrorist faction war spilling into Colombia. But the key moves and the course charted so far are clearly designed to prevent exactly that kind of outcome.

If Trump had simply yanked out Maduro, declared the existing government null and void, and proclaimed Machado the new president, that would have ensured a civil war.