That is ludicrous. The unrest and violence in Venezuela are entirely the doing of the Maduro government, which has spent years suppressing the opposition and imposing arbitrary currency controls that have made a once prosperous economy one of the world’s most dysfunctional. The Obama administration has sought in recent months to nudge the government and opposition factions to find collaborative solutions to the country’s ills and offered to help with delivery of humanitarian aid. The collapse of order in Venezuela could set off a refugee crisis that would destabilize the region.

So far, international efforts to get the government to accept humanitarian aid and negotiate in good faith with the opposition have faltered. This summer, opposition leaders, who control the National Assembly, thought they had a good shot at ousting Mr. Maduro by holding a recall referendum. That initiative fizzled as Maduro loyalists in the government made it impossible for opposition factions, which are deeply divided, to meet the procedural requirements necessary to hold an early vote.

This has left the opposition with no discernible strategy to extract concessions from an authoritarian and paranoid government whose actions are becoming increasingly bizarre. Even though Venezuela was expelled from the regional trade bloc Mercosur in early December, Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez last week flew to Buenos Aires to crash a diplomatic summit meeting the group held. “If they slam the door on us, we will sneak in through the window,” a defiant Ms. Rodríguez warned before trying to elbow her way into the meeting. Argentine security forces had to physically restrain her.

In coming weeks, the Trump administration will have to assess Venezuela’s worsening crisis and take stock of its policy options. Late in the presidential campaign, Donald Trump pledged to “stand with the oppressed people of Venezuela yearning to be free.” He offered no details of what that would entail. One thing is certain: He should avoid getting drawn into a war of words with Mr. Maduro. Venezuela’s flailing leader would happily use any excuse to claim foreign intervention to justify even greater repression of his people.