Neither the United States nor its South American partners are working to arm Venezuela’s opposition and stage a violent overthrow of strongman Nicolas Maduro, U.S. and regional officials say, dismissing Russia’s claims of an imminent U.S.-led coup.
“We are talking about a sovereign nation, so there’s no adventure or military adventure,” a South American diplomat told the Washington Examiner. “It’s simply not something that’s in our playbook. It’s not how we do things. We have not ever tried to establish a civil war.”
Russia, one of Maduro’s chief international patrons, last week accused the United States and NATO of plotting to purchase “a large batch of weapons” from some Eastern European ally for delivery to Interim President Juan Guaido, the opposition lawmakers dozens of countries have recognized as the legitimate leader of Venezuela.
“The batch will reportedly include heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, portable missile launchers, and ammunition for light weapons and artillery systems. So, this is what they mean when they talk about delivering humanitarian aid,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday. “There is also a Ukrainian trace in this brazen plan.”
Trump’s team scoffed at the “fake news” charges. “There’s no truth to that,” a senior administration official told reporters. “It’s actually a very senseless accusation.”
Maduro has reportedly hired Russian contractors from a Kremlin-aligned mercenary force that operates in Ukraine and Syria to buttress his personal security.
The dictator has also accused the United States of trying to create a pretext to invade Venezuela, and he blocked a U.S.-led delivery of humanitarian aid over the weekend. Trump’s appointment of Elliott Abrams, who played a role in the U.S. effort to overthrow Nicaragua’s revolutionary Sandinista government in the 1980s, as special envoy for Venezuela stoked suspicions that the U.S. might try to smuggle weapons into the country along with food and medical supplies.
“It’s just humanitarian aid,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CNN Sunday, noting that allies are involved in the delivery program. “Check the pictures, look at the videos. It was USAID-marked. By the way, there were other countries. European countries assisted. We’re very appreciative. Canada. The Colombians were fantastic. They took real risk yesterday. This is a serious effort to address a very, very serious need.”
Venezuelan security forces and paramilitary groups loyal to Maduro fired on people seeking aid at the border with Colombia last weekend, killing several and injuring hundreds.
Maduro declared victory over the U.S., but the South American diplomat argues that the “cruel” display was a fatal political error. The diplomat, speaking anonymously because he’s not authorized to comment publicly, said the next step is in the hands of the Venezuelan people. “To take Maduro out, that’s on them,” he told the Washington Examiner. “They, of course, have to lead this process.”
