In a video message, the US backed figurehead of the military coup, Juan Guaidó, said he had started the “final phase” of “his plan” to overthrow the government in Venezuela on behalf of US and European powers.
US officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton, quickly issued public statements in support of the coup.
Guaidó called on the military to back him in the “final phase” of overthrowing the government. “The national armed forces have taken the correct decision, and they count on the support of the Venezuelan people,” Guaidó said in a video posted on his Twitter account.
Supporters of the Maduro government and supporters of Guaidó took to the street across Venezuela today, some of the demonstrations turned extremely violent. Troops supporting Guaido appear to be wearing blue armbands.
Tear gas and live rounds have been fired. Many people have been injured. In a video, an armored vehicle was captured running over protesters:
***WARNING DISTURBING VIDEO***
Long before Juan Guaidó coronated himself as the President of Venezuela without ever running in an election and challenged the Maduro administration, the US government has been taking active measures to destabilize and destroy Venezuela.
Back in December, before most everyone had heard of the American Darling, Guaidó, Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro was aware of assassination plots against him, specifically attempted by John Bolton, the US National Security Adviser. Russian bomber planes were sent to Venezuela in order to support the government and deter any aggression that the US might direct against Venezuela.
The US government is interested in the country’s vast oil reserves. John Bolton spoke in January about the desire for American companies overtake state-owned Venezuelan oil and privatize the industry for American profit, “It will make a big difference to the United States economically if we could have American oil companies really invest in and produce the oil capabilities in Venezuela.”
The US has engaged in economic warfare against Venezuela for years, with sanctions that have caused the deaths of more than 40,000 Venezuelans since 2017. The sanctions are intended to bring the country to its knees and make it susceptible to attack, and destabilization, like the coup that is going on right now.
Now, it appears the Trump administration is doubling down on it’s economic warfare against two Latin American countries. Today, Donald Trump threatened Cuba for giving assistance to Venezuela and if they continue to support Maduro, Trump threatened Cuba with an “embargo, together with highest-level sanctions.”
Photo: screenshot from Twitter
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