U.S. in direct contact with Venezuelan military, urging defections

[the other mike]

There is a calm before the storm feeling throughout Venezuela as 30 million citizens already with extreme economic struggles are now fearing it could get even worse.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is holding direct communications with members of Venezuela’s military urging them to abandon President Nicolas Maduro and is also preparing new sanctions aimed at increasing pressure on him, a senior White House official said.

The Trump administration expects further military defections from Maduro’s side, the official told Reuters in an interview, despite only a few senior officers having done so since opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president last month, earning the recognition of the United States and dozens of other countries.
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Exclusive: U.S. in direct contact with Venezuelan military, urging defections - source | Reuters

Juan Guaidó is the product of a decade-long project overseen by Washington’s elite regime change trainers. While posing as a champion of democracy, he has spent years at the forefront of a violent campaign of destabilization.

The Making of Juan Guaidó: How the US Regime Change Laboratory Created Venezuela's Coup Leader | The Grayzone

 

[georgephillip]

Juan Guaidó is the product of a decade-long project overseen by Washington’s elite regime change trainers. While posing as a champion of democracy, he has spent years at the forefront of a violent campaign of destabilization.

The Making of Juan Guaidó: How the US Regime Change Laboratory Created Venezuela's Coup Leader | The Grayzone

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"Before the fateful day of January 22, fewer than one in five Venezuelans had heard of Juan Guaidó.

"Only a few months ago, the 35-year-old was an obscure character in a politically marginal far-right group closely associated with gruesome acts of street violence.

"Even in his own party, Guaidó had been a mid-level figure in the opposition-dominated National Assembly, which is now held under contempt according to Venezuela’s constitution.

"But after a single phone call from from US Vice President Mike Pence, Guaidó proclaimed himself president of Venezuela."

Guaido's and Trump's fig leaf for legitimacy is based on Article 233 of the Venezuelan Constitution giving the National Assembly the power to declare a national president's "abandonment" of office.

Obviously, Maduro missed that memo, and we're left with another example of US meddling in the internal affairs of another sovereign state.

FEBRUARY 8, 2019
Juan Guaidó: The Man Who Would Be President of Venezuela Doesn’t Have a Constitutional Leg to Stand On