Operation Big Stick

Following the declaration of Juan Guaidó as acting President of Venezuela by the Venezuelan National Assembly in January of 2019, the government of Nicolas Maduro accused Guaidó of conducting a coup. While at no point did Guaidó have effective control of the whole country or even most of it, his cause had gained significant traction, including official backing from the National Assembly, and he also received foreign assistance from the US, the Netherlands, and Colombia, among others. There could be no doubt that Guaidó posed a serious threat to Maduro’s regime. This scenario assumes that in February, Maduro launched a violent attack against his political opponents, backed by the military and also heavily supported by China. Guaidó was killed after attempting to resist forces sent to arrest him. The National Assembly was dissolved, with several of its members also being killed and the majority of the rest being detained or forced to flee the country. Widespread popular protests followed, which were violently put down by the Venezuelan military. Now, after a series of escalations, NATO is forced to intervene. Difficulty: 5 Complexity: 5