National security adviser John Bolton said “all options” remain “on the table” as the United States considers how to respond to the coup attempt now being staged in Venezuela.
Bolton warned that there could be dangerous consequences for the Venezuelan people if its uprising against President Nicolás Maduro fails.
“If this effort fails, they will sink into a dictatorship from which there are very few possible alternatives,” Bolton told reporters in front of the White House on Tuesday. “It’s a very delicate moment. I want to stress again the president wants to see a peaceful transfer of power from Maduro to Guaidó.”
The uprising, which began Tuesday morning, is led by U.S.-recognized interim President Juan Guaidó.
Bolton said the uprising was “clearly not” a coup.
“We recognize Juan Guaidó as the legitimate interim president of Venezuela,” he said. “And just as it’s not a coup when the president of the United States gives an order to the Department of Defense, it’s not a coup for Juan Guaidó to try and take command of the Venezuelan military.”
Bolton also said there is still a possibility for a peaceful transfer of power.
“That possibility still exists if enough figures depart from the regime and support the opposition. That’s what we’d like to see,” Bolton said. He said the U.S. does not see any indication that Maduro’s regime will fire on innocent civilians.
The U.S. has been providing humanitarian assistance, including food and medicine, to the Venezuelan people in response to Maduro’s attempts to block aid from entering the country. Bolton said the U.S. is also “doing a lot of other things” to help, but would not provide details.
