US national security advisor John Bolton has called for “change of the regime” in Caracas, and accused Cuba of controlling the current government of Venezuela, while backing an opposition politician’s attempt at armed coup.
Bolton called on senior officials in the government of President Nicolas Maduro to switch their support to the US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido, “if the Cubans will let them do it.”
Also on rt.com Bolton calls on Venezuelan military to ‘protect the constitution’ by backing Guaido coup attemptHe also disputed the media description of Tuesday’s events in Caracas as an attempted coup, arguing that it was a legitimate president giving orders to the country’s military.
This is clearly not a coup. We recognize Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela.
Bolton maintained there was "overwhelming public support" for Guaido in Venezuela and that Maduro is surrounded by Cuban bodyguards, calling on the head of the Venezuelan supreme court, the defense minister, and head of the presidential guard to defect to Guaido’s side.
“We don't know what the command structure is right now, other than it reports to Havana,” Bolton claimed, adding, “I hope we can have a change in the regime in Caracas soon.”
Also on rt.com Venezuela’s Maduro says military commanders have ‘total loyalty’ amid coup attemptDespite US claims of overwhelming popular support for Guaido, the opposition politician failed to take control in January. Nor did he succeed in the attempt to force open the border between Colombia and Venezuela for US “humanitarian aid” in February. Since then, the Trump administration has sought to explain Maduro’s resilience by embracing the narrative that Venezuela is really under “Cuban occupation.”
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