Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have flooded the streets of Caracas to protest the oppressive Maduro regime. But the crisis there cannot be considered a conflict, in part due to the protestors' lack of organization.

Surprised listeners heard this conclusion last week from Dr. Francesca Grandi and Virginia Comolli of the International Institute of Strategic Studies at the IISS-Americas launch for the Armed Conflict Survey 2019.

Comolli explained that a conflict is defined as an “armed confrontation between two actors” either state or non-state.

To qualify as a conflict, she explained, both parties involved must be organized and have a main use of violence over a sustained time.

Both experts agree that the fight for control of Venezuela is one-sided, with the government being the main aggressor against the citizens.

Clashes between the Maduro government and the Venezuelan citizens grew malignantly until January 30, when Juan Guaido challenged the legitimacy of Maduro’s presidency and was sworn-in as acting president of Venezuela.

Just minutes after his swearing in, Guaido was recognized as acting president by the United States. By February, he was considered the official acting President of Venezuela by 54 countries.

(Clare Hillen is a sophomore at George Washington University, and a summer intern at the Washington, D.C. bureau of Newsmax)