It's too bad, because a thoughtful military assist to the existing civilian opposition could probably do a lot of good in Venezuela. EG - in Panama the US removed Noriega, and then sent billions in aid to rebuild the country, and turned over the canal (which gave them an economic base to rebuild from).
In Venezuela they could remove the current regime and hand over power immediately to the recent Nobel Peace Prize winner, help rebuild the oil industry and let the profits be used for reconstruction. If citizens saw immediate and tangible benefits that would significantly reduce opposition, and the country could rebuild into a functioning democracy.
Panama is probably the most recent example of this working, and the Marshall plan in Germany/Japan would be another example. The oil gives the country a unique option - as the capital spending to restore it could generate massive amounts of jobs, and the profits from selling it could provide a social safety net for everyone else.
Unfortunately, I don't think that's what's likely here...
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