Santa Barbara is such a vibrant community. Having grown up here but living in Seattle for four decades, we decided to get very involved in the community when moving back.
One of the good decisions we made was joining the Channel City Club.
The nonprofit and nonpartisan club was founded 80 years ago to provide the community with a local venue for leading experts on state, national and international issues.
The club has hosted a long list of prominent speakers over the years, including four U.S. presidents (Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan), many international heads of state, diplomats, visionaries and pioneers, titans of industry, and sports legends.
The roster includes names like Madeleine Albright, Steve Allen, Jerry Brown, Julia Child, Cecil B. DeMille, Billy Graham, Edmund Hillary, Hubert Humphrey, Nelson Rockefeller, John Wooden and many others.
Themes include politics and government, international affairs (especially foreign policy perspectives), journalism, history, science, environment and community issues.
Our most recent speaker was Richard Downie, who provided a historical look at the United States’ relationship with Latin America and more recent strategies with Venezuela and Cuba.
Downie is a senior fellow for Latin American Studies at the Pacific Council on International Policy, an adjunct professor at USC, and a faculty member and graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He has been awarded a host of illustrious American and foreign medals for his service.
Downie’s comments were very timely, given recent events in Venezuela and evolving issues with Cuba. He talked about the Monroe Doctrine, which dates to 1823 when President James Monroe declared that the Western Hemisphere was “off-limits” to further European colonization.
He noted that this two-century strategy has been modified by the “Donroe Doctrine,” President Donald Trump’s more aggressive version, which is intended to push back on outside influence by Russia, China and Iran.
Downie talked about a three-phase plan described in recent coverage of Secretary of State Marco Rubio:
- Stabilization: Prevent collapse and restore basic order, often through control of oil revenues and sanctions
- Recovery: Reopen the economy, let foreign firms re-enter under fair rules, release political prisoners, etc.
- Transition: Move toward a new political settlement and hand the process back to Venezuelans to complete democratic change
Downie noted the reality of making the three steps actually happen. While the U.S. military operation to capture Nicolás Maduro was a success, the remaining power structure of Venezuela was almost unchanged, with a very corrupt leadership in place and the actual election winner, Juan Guaidó, still in exile.
As Downie commented, “we got the dictator but left the dictatorship.”
The United States has taken control of oil revenues, implemented sanctions and has been working with acting/interim President Delcy Rodríguez to prevent collapse of the country.
And there are signs of Step 2 (recovery) happening, including the first commercial flight from the United States to Caracas and discussions with big U.S. oil companies about restoring Venezuela’s decaying energy system — but so much more to do.
Venezuela’s gross-domestic product fell more than 75% from 2014 to 2021, and while hyperinflation has slowed, it hit 475% in 2025.
Poverty remains widespread with millions needing humanitarian aid. Rebuilding the country’s oil production is key after decades of inattention.
Finally, Downie noted that most experts believe true regime change to restore democracy in Venezuela is, sadly, years away.
Comments then focused on Cuba, which has an economy near collapse after decades of communist rule.
Downie noted that issues about Cuba are largely political, with a great deal of support from the large population of former Cubans living in Florida. He said that simply removing the country’s president would do little to change things, given strong continued control by the Castro family/regime.
Regime change in Cuba has been a long-held view of Rubio, dating back to his days in Congress and continuing as secretary of state, which might play a role in U.S. decision making.
We walked away from the Channel City Club event feeling like we learned a lot and are better prepared to think about happenings in our country’s “neighborhood,” the Western Hemisphere.
Downie presented views from a number of perspectives and a greater understanding of current events.
Up next in June will be Tim Ingle, chief financial officer and group vice president of enterprise strategy of Toyota Motor North America, to talk about global supply changing challenges, autonomy, electric vehicles, U.S.-Japan relations, and renewal of the historic United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Truly “Santa Barbara’s Window on the World,” as the Channel City Club’s motto states.
