Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
Venezuelan Government officials have drawn up a plan in which President Nicolas Maduro will eventually leave office, aimed at reducing increasing US pressure on the government. caracasAccording to a former Trump administration official.
the proposal that was rejected white HouseCalls for Maduro to relinquish power in three years and hand over authority to his vice president Delcy Rodriguez, who will complete Maduro’s current six-year term, which runs until January 2031, according to the official who was briefed on the plan but was not authorized to comment publicly on the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Rodriguez would not run for re-election under the plan, the official said, adding that the White House rejected the proposal because it continues to question the legitimacy of Maduro’s regime and accuse him of overseeing a narco-terrorist state.
Maduro’s efforts to present a plan to gradually oust him from power come amid growing unease within the Venezuelan leader’s government that President donald trump Can order military action to remove him from office.
Aspects of the Venezuelan effort were first reported by the Miami Herald on Thursday. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Rodriguez on Thursday described Maduro’s alleged plan to step down as fake news.
“Fake!!” Rodriguez wrote in English on his Telegram account. “More media that contribute to the garbage of psychological warfare against the Venezuelan people.”
He said that the Venezuelan leadership is united.
Since the beginning of September, US forces have carried out several attacks on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea, including at least four boats originating from Venezuela.
Trump deployed three Aegis guided-missile destroyers to Venezuelan waters following those attacks, which the administration has framed as an effort to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels.
‘SOPs’ working by White House in Venezuela in attempt to ‘create disunity’: Expert
Trump took the unconventional step of confirming to reporters on Wednesday that he had provided classified information cia Action in Venezuela. He said the administration was “looking for ground” as it considered further attacks in the area. But he declined to say whether the CIA had the authority to act specifically against Maduro.
The Republican president’s admission that he had given the green light to the CIA operation further escalated tensions with the South American nation, which were already high due to attacks on boats.
The Commander-in-Chief publicly addressing covert CIA operations is unlikely to be found in any spy manual. But analysts say it may have the desired effect on the White House: creating even more anxiety among Maduro and his allies that his days are numbered.
“It’s psyops,” said Brian Fonseca, a scholar at Florida International University who studies Venezuela, using shorthand for psychological operations. “It’s about putting pressure on the Maduro regime and trying to create a rift between the political and military elites of the country, and see if you can get that rift to oust Maduro from power.”
Maduro was sworn in for a third six-year term in January despite credible evidence that he lost last year’s election.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton said US opposition to the Maduro government is nothing new, but he declined to comment on Trump saying he approved a covert CIA operation in Venezuela.
“However, it has been the policy of the Trump and Biden administrations that Maduro is not the legitimate leader of Venezuela,” Cotton said in a statement.
Wanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and expert on drug trafficking and security issues, said Trump’s pressure campaign on Venezuela is likely designed to encourage Venezuelan military leaders to abandon their support for Maduro, leaving them with few allies and few options other than resigning.
That’s probably one reason why Trump took the step of publicly announcing the CIA’s involvement, he said.
“It is becoming clearer day by day that the purpose of these actions in the Caribbean is to topple the Maduro regime,” Felbab-Brown said. “The administration is trying to put enough pressure on the military to get Maduro to step down.”
A small group of top administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Trump aide Stephen Miller, have pressed for carrying out the deadly attacks.
Rubio, who fondly remembers his days in the Senate, has advocated for a tough stance on Maduro.
During Trump’s first term, Maduro was convicted of US federal drug charges, including narcoterrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine. This year, the Justice Department doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million, accusing him of being “one of the world’s largest narco-traffickers.”
Trump has focused on the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which he claims is acting as a “front” for Maduro, and said gang members were on the first boat targeted last month. No details have been released on alleged involvement in other attacks.
,
AP writers Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations, Jorge Rueda in Caracas, Venezuela, and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed reporting.