‘We are with you!’ US says of Venezuela opposition uprising on WTOP| WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leaders calling for a military uprising against the government of President Nicolas Maduro gained quick messages of support Tuesday from the Trump administration amid a possible turning point…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration quickly declared enthusiastic support Tuesday for the Venezuelan opposition effort to spark a military uprising against embattled President Nicolas Maduro, hoping for decisive action in the political crisis that has engulfed the South American nation.
Late in the day, President Donald Trump threatened a “full and complete embargo” and sanctions on Cuba if its troops do not cease operations in Venezuela. National Security Adviser John Bolton alleged earlier that Cuban troops were keeping Maduro in power in Caracas.
Trump and senior foreign policy figures in his administration all weighed in during the day, casting the effort headed by opposition leaders Juan Guaido and Leopoldo Lopez as a move to restore democracy, not an attempted coup like the short-lived effort to oust then-President Hugo Chavez in 2002 that seemed to have U. S. support.
“We are with you!” Vice President Mike Pence tweeted to the opposition. Pence, who has had a lead role in the administration’s effort to persuade Maduro to give up power, told the opposition group, “America will stand with you until freedom & democracy are restored.”
Likewise Trump himself tweeted that he was monitoring the situation and “the United States stands with the people of Venezuela and their Freedom!”
Lopez, the country’s most prominent opposition activist, had been under house arrest, and his sudden appearance would seem to have required the cooperation of troops who guard him. However, late Tuesday, he sought refuge with his family in the Chilean Embassy in Caracas, a discouraging sign for supporters of the uprising.
Bolton said it was a “very delicate moment” for Venezuela.
“If this effort fails, they will sink into a dictatorship from which there are very few possible alternatives,” he said at the White House.
The wholehearted embrace of the rebellion reflects the goals of an administration that from its earliest days has sought the removal of Maduro.
