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In a speech in April, when he was still White House policy chief for Latin America,
在4月的一次演讲中，时任白宫拉美事务最高长官的克鲁兹
Mr. Cruz issued a message to the Venezuelan military, referring to Mr. Maduro as a “madman,”
向委内瑞拉军方发出了一条消息，还在消息中称马杜罗是个“疯子”，
Mr. Cruz said all Venezuelans should “urge the military to respect the oath they took to perform their functions. Honor your oath.”
他说，所有委内瑞拉人都应“敦促军方尊重他们履行职责的誓言。信守你们的誓言。”
As the crisis in Venezuela worsened in recent years,
随着近年来委内瑞拉的危机不断恶化，
American officials debated the pros and cons of opening lines of dialogue with rebellious factions of the military.
美国官员就打开与反叛军对话的渠道的利弊进行了辩论。
“There were differences of opinion,” said Ms. Aponte, the former top Latin America diplomat under Mr. Obama.
“大家对此各持己见，”曾担任奥巴马政府拉丁事务最高外交官的阿庞特女士说道。
“There were people who had a lot of faith in the idea that they could bring about stability, help distribute food, work on practical stuff.”
“有一部分人坚信他们能够给委内瑞拉带来稳定，帮助他们分派粮食，坚信他们能够做出实际行动。”
But others — including Ms. Aponte — saw considerable risk in building bridges with leaders of a military that, in Washington’s assessment, has become a pillar of the cocaine trade and human rights abuses.
其他人 - 包括阿庞特女士 - 则认为，鉴于华盛顿的评估发现委内瑞拉的军方领导人已然成为可卡因贸易和侵犯人权的罪魁祸首，建立与他们沟通的桥梁有着巨大的风险。
Roberta Jacobson, a former ambassador to Mexico who preceded Ms. Aponte as the top State Department official for Latin America policy,
罗伯塔·雅各布森，前墨西哥大使、阿庞特女士的上任国务院拉美事务最高长官，
said that while Washington has long regarded the Venezuelan military as “widely corrupt, deeply involved in narcotics trafficking and very unsavory,”
她说，虽然华盛顿长期以来一直认为委内瑞拉军队“普遍腐败又深陷贩毒活动，令人厌恶，”
she saw merit in establishing a back channel with some of them.
她还是觉得和他们中的一部分人建立秘密沟通渠道是有好处的。
“Given the broader breakdown in institutions in Venezuela, there was a feeling that — while they were not necessarily the answer —
“整个委内瑞拉的单位都已崩溃，感觉 - 虽然结果未必如此 -
any kind of democratic resolution would have had to have the military on board,” said Ms. Jacobson, who retired from the State Department this year.
无论采取的是哪种形式的民主决议，它们都得给军队让出一席之地，”今年已经从国务院退休的雅各布森女士说到。
“The idea of hearing from actors in those places, no matter how unsavory they may be, is integral to diplomacy.”
“无论那些领域的实干者道德有多败坏，听取他们的意见也是外交不可或缺的一部分。”
But whatever the rationale, holding discussions with coup plotters could set off alarms in a region with a list of infamous interventions:
但与谋划政变者展开对话，无论理由如何，还是可能引起该地区的警惕，毕竟美国曾经在该地区展开了多次臭名昭著的干涉行动：
1961年，中央情报局入侵猪湾，企图推翻彼时的古巴领导人菲德尔·卡斯特罗，最终行动失败；
the American-supported coup in Chile in 1973, which led to the long military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet;
1973年，美国煽动智利政变，导致奥古斯托·皮诺切特的军队对智利实行了长期的独裁统治；
and the Reagan administration’s covert support of right-wing rebels known as “the contras” in Nicaragua in the 1980s.
八十年代，里根政府又暗中支持了名号“反政府游击队”的尼加拉瓜右翼反叛分子。
In Venezuela, a coup in 2002 briefly deposed Mr. Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez.
在委内瑞拉2002年的一次政变后，马杜罗的前任乌戈·查韦斯暂时被罢免了总统职务。
The United States knew a plot was being hatched, but warned against it, according to a classified document that was later made public.
后来公布的一份机密文件显示，美国当时知道有人在密谋政变，还警告过他们。
The coup took place anyway and the George W. Bush administration opened a channel to the new leader.
但政变最终还是发生了，而后布什政府开通了与新任总统的沟通渠道。
Officials then backed away from the new government after popular anger rose against the coup and countries in the region loudly denounced it.
由于政变激起了民愤以及周边国家的大声谴责，官员们随后便退出了新政府。
Mr. Chávez was reinstated as president.
查韦斯则恢复了总统身份。
In the latest coup plot, the number of military figures connected to the plan dwindled from a high of about 300 to 400 last year to about half that after a crackdown this year by Mr. Maduro’s government.
今年，在马杜罗政府的镇压下，参与最新政变阴谋的军方人物从去年的300至400人之多减少了将近一半。
The former Venezuelan military officer worries that the 150 or so comrades who have been detained are probably being tortured.
上文提到的委内瑞拉前军官担心被拘留的150名上下的同志可能正在遭受酷刑。
He lamented that the United States did not supply the mutineers with radios, which he believes could have changed the country’s history.
美国没有为叛军提供无线电台他十分惋惜，因为他认为此举原本能够改写委内瑞拉的历史。
“I’m disappointed,” he said. “But I’m the least affected. I’m not a prisoner.”
“我很失望，”他说。 “但这次失败对我来说影响不大，毕竟，我没有被囚禁起来。”
译文由可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载。
