When President Donald Trump sent American special forces to snatch(夺取；抓捕) Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro, in January, it did not sound as though restoring democracy was his priority. He boasted endlessly about how he now controlled Venezuela’s oil, while barely mentioning the country’s political future. He installed as interim president Delcy Rodríguez, the deposed(被废黜的) despot’s dismal(阴郁的；凄凉的) deputy. Many worried that without a strong American commitment to a democratic transition, the old, brutal kleptocracy(盗贼统治) would carry on(继续；持续).
今年一月，当唐纳德·特朗普总统派遣美国特种部队抓捕委内瑞拉独裁者尼古拉斯·马杜罗时，听起来恢复民主并非他的首要任务。他无休止地吹嘘自己现在如何控制了委内瑞拉的石油，却几乎不提该国的政治未来。他任命被废黜暴君的阴郁副手德尔西·罗德里格斯为临时总统。许多人担心，如果美国不对民主过渡做出坚定承诺，那个残暴的旧盗贼统治将会继续。
Yet the prospects(前景；可能性) for democracy in Venezuela seem to be improving. This is not because Mr Trump has suddenly developed a passion for the subject. It is because his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who really does care about ending left-wing dictatorships in Latin America, has been granted a reasonably free hand to use America’s huge influence in pursuit of that goal.(这是因为他的国务卿马尔科·卢比奥——他确实真心希望终结拉丁美洲的左翼独裁——被赋予了相当大的自由，可以利用美国的巨大影响力来追求这一目标。)
然而，委内瑞拉的民主前景似乎正在改善。这并不是因为特朗普先生突然对这个话题产生了热情，而是因为他的国务卿马尔科·卢比奥——他确实真心希望终结拉丁美洲的左翼独裁——被赋予了相当大的自由，可以利用美国的巨大影响力来追求这一目标。
A first round of negotiations between Venezuela’s regime and figures from the opposition ended on August 12th with a modest(适度的；不大的) agreement to begin a process of judicial reform, including of the Supreme Court. Our reporting finds reasons for optimism. Further talks could produce, by December, reforms that could allow for(考虑到；允许) fair elections.
委内瑞拉政权与反对派人士之间的第一轮谈判于8月12日结束，达成了一项温和的协议，开始司法改革进程，包括最高法院的改革。我们的报道认为有理由乐观。进一步的谈判可能在12月前产生改革，从而允许举行公平选举。