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Trump Loses Confidence In U.S Intelligence On Venezuela
By
Paul Antonopoulos
4
May, 2019
WASHINGTON
– US President Donald Trump has begun questioning the credibility
of US intelligence information about Venezuela and its government
during recent events in the South American country, CNN quoted
anonymous sources as saying.
The
sources said that Trump’s skepticism was caused by the fact that
“the military uprising that Guaido and some US officials were
counting on failed to gain steam.”
This
led Trump “to ask to questions about the reliability of US
intelligence that suggested senior members of Maduro’s inner circle
were preparing to defect.,” the sources reveal.
The
sources added that the US president also pressed his advisors to know
“how reliable the information coming from Guaido and Venezuela was
and whether it was being interpreted properly.”
This
comes after US National Security Adviser John Bolton, Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan gathered
at the Pentagon on Friday to discuss military options in Venezuela.
Shanahan
reiterated White House statements that all options “are on the
table.” Pompeo, meanwhile, told Fox News that “military action,
which he has not ruled out.” The same was said by Bolton, according
to which the US would not allow Guaidó to be mistreated.
Earlier,
the Washington Post reported , citing unidentified White House
officials, that the Venezuelan opposition held secret talks with some
members of the Bush administration, but for now, they seem to have
failed.
On
April 30, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who proclaimed
himself interim president of the country, launched the so-called
Operation Freedom to remove Nicolás Maduro from power. In a video
posted on Twitter, Guaidó appears alongside the military and
opposition leader Leopoldo López, who was imprisoned since 2014 and
was released by the rebels at the La Carlota airbase in Caracas.
Guaidó calls for a “nonviolent fight”, says the military on his
side and says that “the time is now.”
According
to Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, the
Venezuelan Armed Forces continue to be completely loyal to the
legitimate authorities.
Venezuela
has dealt with a serious political crisis, with opposition leader
Juan Guaidó proclaiming himself interim president of the country on
January 23.
From the NY Times
Putin
to Trump: Foreign meddling undermines chances of political settlement
in Venezuela
RT,
4
May, 2019
The
future of Venezuela can only be decided by its people, Vladimir Putin
reminded Donald Trump in a phone call, as the US pushes hard for
regime change in the Latin American country.
The
Russian and US Presidents talked on the phone on Friday. Among other
issues, they discussed Venezuela, where a military coup attempt was
averted earlier this week.Foreign meddling and attempts at forceful
regime change in Venezuela only undermine any prospects of resolving
the crisis through political means, Putin said.
“Only
Venezuelans themselves have the right to determine the future of
their country,” he told Trump, according to the Kremlin website.
There
were clashes in Caracas on Tuesday and Wednesday as self-proclaimed
interim president Juan Guaido announced the so-called “Operation
Liberty.” But the coup attempt swiftly fizzled, after failing to
garner enough support from the public and from within the military,
which largely remained loyal to elected president Nicolas Maduro.
US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that Maduro was about to flee
Venezuela for Cuba during the escalation and that it was Russians who
told him to stay. Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, said these
statements were false.
Since
the beginning of the crisis in January, Washington has outright
backed Guaido’s claim to power as it’s itching to see the
socialist government in oil-rich Venezuela ousted.
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