Cutting off cash to illegitimate president Nicolas Maduro through an oil embargo was a good move by the Trump administration, and it brings us one step closer to ending the disastrous socialist regime of Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chavez.

Maduro's power is almost entirely sustained by his oil sales. Without that revenue, Chavez's ludicrous successor will struggle to pay off senior military officers he relies upon for protection. But this isn't a sanctions action in the conventional sense. Because by granting interim president Juan Guaido access to the newly restricted oil revenue accounts, the U.S. is showing deference to the legitimate executive political authority in Caracas. Guaido was rightly recognized by the U.S. last week following mass street protests against Maduro's illegitimate rule.

This sanctions decision, then, represents a calibrated step towards increasing pressure on Maduro in a way that attempts to peacefully drive him out of power. Importantly, the U.S. refused last week to recognize Maduro's demand that we withdraw U.S. diplomats from Venezuela.

Keeping those diplomats there is treating Guiado with the respect the position deserves. Guaido wants those U.S. diplomats to remain in Caracas.

At present, there is no good justification for U.S. military action in Venezuela. But short of that, it is in U.S. and regional political interests, and Venezuelan moral interests to see Maduro leave power as soon as possible.