The US wants to finance Guaidó with money from the Venezuelan people.
The United States is working to cut off the revenue streams of Nicolás Maduro's government so that Congressman Juan Guaidó, the self-proclaimed interim president, can be responsible for mediating the receipt of the country's oil revenues, a high-ranking official in Washington said Thursday (24); "We believe this is consistent with our recognition of Juan Guaidó as the constitutional interim president of Venezuela," said John Bolton, national security advisor to the Trump administration, adding that the measure is still under study.
247, with Reuters - The United States is working to cut off sources of revenue for Nicolás Maduro's government, so that Congressman Juan Guaidó, who proclaimed himself interim president, will be responsible for mediating the receipt of the country's oil revenues, a senior official in Washington said Thursday (24).
The announcement, without further details, showed that the White House is willing to go beyond traditional diplomatic measures to drain resources from the Venezuelan people and finance the coup-plotting opposition.
If it goes ahead, the maneuver strengthens Guaidó, president of the opposition-dominated National Assembly, who on Wednesday proclaimed himself interim president in an impromptu rally on the streets of Caracas, subsequently receiving support from Washington and neighboring countries, such as Brazil.
"We are focusing today on disconnecting the Maduro regime from its sources of revenue," said John Bolton, national security advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump.
"We believe this is consistent with our recognition of Juan Guaidó as the constitutional interim president of Venezuela," Bolton told reporters at the White House, adding that the measure is still under consideration.
The US is one of the main buyers of Venezuelan oil, which generates more than 90 percent of Venezuela's foreign currency revenue.
However, it will not be easy to implement the change sought by Guaidó and his external allies without clear control over the main state institutions and without the Armed Forces, which remain loyal to Maduro.
Defense Minister General Vladimir Padriño said in a televised address on Thursday (24) that Guaidó's act was "aberrant" and that the military would never recognize as commander-in-chief someone who was not elected.
"Someone, for reasons I don't know... raised their hand and proclaimed themselves president," said Padriño. "Anything done without legal, constitutional support is doomed to fail," he added.