Tuesday morning, Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaidó called for a military uprising to oust President Maduro.
The opposition seems to have Maduro on the ropes. According to Secretary Pompeo, Maduro was preparing to flee to Cuba until the Russians persuaded him to stay put.
Secretary Pompeo:
Vice President Pence voiced his support for Operaction Libertad:
And President Trump promised sanctions if Cuba ceased intervention in the “destruction to the Constitution of Venezuela”:
Early Tuesday morning, Venezuelan officials suggested the attempted military coup was under control. From Reuters:
Venezuela’s government is confronting a small group of “military traitors” that are seeking to promote a coup, Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said on Tuesday on Twitter.A Reuters journalist saw opposition leader Juan Guaido standing near an air force base in Caracas surrounded by a group of men in uniform.
White House National Security Advisor John Bolton spent Tuesday pressuring three senior aides to Maduro to abandon ship (also from Reuters):
U.S. national security adviser John Bolton on Tuesday singled out three senior aides to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro who he said must make good on commitments they purportedly made to the opposition for a peaceful transition away from Maduro’s rule.Speaking at the White House during a day of anti-government protests in Venezuela, Bolton named Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, Supreme Court chief judge Maikel Moreno and presidential guard commander Ivan Rafael Hernandez Dala as having told the opposition that Maduro needed to give up power to opposition leader Juan Guaido.
We’ll me monitoring this story and updating accordingly.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY