By Jon Dougherty
As the chaotic situation on the ground in Venezuela continued to deteriorate over the weekend following a U.S. attempt to deliver aid, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hinted that American military intervention could be in the offing as he warned that President Nicolas Maduro’s “days are numbered.”
Pompeo’s warning comes as the nation’s top diplomat reaffirmed Washington’s support for self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido.
The former CIA director discussed the prospect of military action against Caracas on “Fox News Sunday,” saying that”every option” is on the table toward making sure that the Maduro regime does not endure much longer.
Denouncing Maduro as a “sick tyrant,â€Â Pompeo said in his Sunday morning remarks, “We’re very hopeful in the days and weeks and months ahead the Maduro regime will understand that the Venezuelan people have made its days numbered.”
Pompeo’s thinly veiled threat comes as Guaido announced he would attend a summit of the Lima Group, a meeting of 12 South and Central American states which have formally recognized him Venezuela’s “legitimate” leader.
Importantly, Guaido will meet with Vice President Mike Pence at the upcoming summit where he is expected to “propose formally to the international community that we should keep open all options for the liberation of our homeland, which is fighting and will continue to fight,â€Â according to a tweeted statement Saturday.
Para avanzar en nuestra ruta, me reuniré el día lunes con nuestros aliados de la comunidad internacional, y seguiremos ordenando próximas acciones a lo interno del país. La presión interna y externa son fundamentales para la liberación.
¡La esperanza nació para no morir!
— Juan Guaidó (@jguaido) February 24, 2019
Since Friday evening, Guaido has been addressing Venezuela’s opposition from neighboring Colombia, where he personally attempted to oversee an aid shipment from the U.S. make its way into his country. The attempt was thwarted by loyalists to Maduro, however, and the aid shipment was destroyed.
Meanwhile, Guaido has been repeating previous calls for Venezuelan military members to defect, especially high-ranking officers charged with corruption, promising them a general “amnesty” in exchange for their backing.
The appeals are not having much success, however, as just a handful of border guards defected to Colombia over the weekend thus far. There have been clashes at multiple border crossings and bridges left at least four people dead and scores wounded, reports have noted.
The U.S. has criticized the violence, laying the blame squarely on Maduro whom U.S. leaders have called a “thug” and “sick tyrant.”
The Maduro government sees American “humanitarian aid” missions, which increasingly involve military transport planes landing in US ally Colombia airstrips, as part of a broader effort to overthrow him.
- Follow Jon Dougherty on Twitter at @JonDougherty10
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In the “months” ahead? Pompeo is giving Maduro a license to continues repressing the Venezuela people.
honor to month adead no pompeo is giving.
This won’t end well…
bullshit.
I’m old enough to remember what the Italian people did to Mussolini and his mistress when they turned on them — if I were Maduro I would leave while I can and am in one piece.
We do NOT need to be starting another war. Let the “Lima Group” start AND finish this task. The people are fighting, this is how it should be, not interference from USA.
air drop the aid all over the place
Iraq redux except in the jungles of Venezuela. How did that lying war turn out?
The Iraq war was actually turning out pretty well until American put a Democrat in charge of things.
Sending our military into Venezuela would be the biggest mistake we’ve made since we went into Iraq. for the love of God, please let these folks work their own problems out.
The U.N. should come to the rescue of the people of Venezuela. If it won’t, what is it good for?
Not one drop of American blood, got that?
We are “investigating Russian collusion” here as we openly overthrow a government there . …