“As the day went on, doubts began to surface – who exactly was backing the so-called uprising? We still don’t have the answers”; the US said earlier this month that the 1823 Monroe Doctrine is “alive and well.”
DESPARDES News Monitor – Venezuela strongman Nicolás Maduro (President Trump’s nemesis according to some analysts) on Tuesday managed to outmaneuver his rivals’ attempt to stage a mutiny and a coup- shortly after 4am . In the evening, Maduro said his troops have thwarted a botched attempt to topple him masterminded by the South American resource-rich country’s “coup-mongering far right” and Donald Trump’s deranged imperialist “gang”. President Maduro, whom the opposition leaders are trying to unseat, remain defiant despite the protests which started early Tuesday morning.In an hour-long address to the nation on Tuesday night – his first since the pre-dawn uprising began – Maduro accused opposition leader Juan Guaidó and his political mentor Leopoldo López ( who had been under house arrest since 2014) of seeking to spark an armed confrontation that might be used as a pretext for a foreign military intervention.“They failed in their plan. They failed in their call, because the people of Venezuela want peace,” Maduro said, surrounded by Venezuela’s military and political elite. “We will continue to emerge victorious … in the months and years ahead. I have no doubt about it.”
Maduro on Venezuela Crisis and Donald Trump: “Venezuela Will Never Give In”
The US administration alleges Mr Maduro had been ready to travel to Cuba to escape the unrest.”They had an airplane on the tarmac. He was ready to leave this morning [Tuesday], as we understand it. Russians indicated he should stay,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CNN, without offering evidence. Senior US officials also claimed three prominent figures in Mr Maduro’s government had agreed the president had to go, but later backtracked, according to BBC.
“The Venezuelan opposition has nurtured links with Washington since well before Guaidó took the political center-stage in January – and such efforts took on a new impulse after Trump took office: The Guardian, UK
US National Security Advisor John Bolton said those figures allegedly included Defense Secretary Vladimir Padrino – who has since reaffirmed his support and appeared alongside Mr Maduro in his televised address.Despite Mr Guaidó’s calls, most of the military stayed on the side of Mr Maduro during the clashes, BBC reported.
Maduro on Russia Today (RT): “I do not care how I’m going to go down in history…I ask the world to denounce, stop the madness of Trump…I’m not going to be a traitor, a weak one…Trump seeks Venezuelan oil, gold, gas, iron, diamonds and other material riches…there would be no war in Venezuela…no military intervention, but this does not mean we’re not prepared to defend our land which is sacred…Venezuela is never going to give in…”
Maduro hints at hybrid war albeit 5th generation warfare in his interview with RT. The situation is the worst economic crisis in Venezuela’s history, and among the worst in the world since 2014.
Meanwhile, Mr Guaidó has renewed his calls for Venezuelans to take to the streets to complete what he has said is the “final phase” of his effort to oust Mr Maduro. Mr Guaidó, the president of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, has been calling on Venezuela’s military to back him ever since he declared himself interim president in January.He argues that President Maduro is a “usurper” because he was re-elected in polls that had been widely disputed.According to Katy Watson who’s BBC correspondent for South America, “Tuesday’s events were definitely dramatic. But it’s not clear where they leave Venezuela.”As the day went on, doubts began to surface – who exactly was backing the so-called uprising? We still don’t have the answers, wrote Ms. Watson.
Here’s a plausible one: Vladimir Putin’s point man in Caracas is pushing back on the U.S. revival of a doctrine used for generations to justify military interventions in the region, wrote the militarytimes.com on April 18.In a rare interview cited by the website, Russian Ambassador Vladimir Zaemskiy rejected an assertion that week week by U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton that the 1823 Monroe Doctrine is “alive and well.”The policy, originally aimed at opposing any European meddling in the hemisphere, was used to justify U.S. military interventions in countries including Cuba, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Grenada, but had been left for dead by recent U.S. administrations trying to turn the page on a dark past.”It’s hard to believe that the U.S. administration have invented a time machine that not only allows them to turn back the clock but also the direction of the universe,” the 66-year-old diplomat told The Associated Press this week. Weeks earlier, (Feb 7, 2019), the Wall Street Journal wrote an ominous piece: Paradise Lost: Venezuela’s Path from Riches to Ruin. It seems though the jury is still out there…whether the paradise has been lost or regained…or still in the works, either way!
