According to a Reuters report, United States is holding
direct communications with members of Venezuela’s military, urging them to
abandon President Nicolas Maduro and is also preparing new sanctions aimed at
increasing pressure on him.
The Trump administration expects further military defections
from Maduro’s side, despite only a few senior officers having done so since
opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president last month,
earning the recognition of the United States and dozens of other countries.
One of the officials accepting US offer said, “We believe
these to be those first couple pebbles before we start really seeing bigger rocks
rolling down the hill. We’re still having conversations with members of the
Maduro regime, with military members, although those conversations are very,
very limited.”
The official declined to provide details on the discussions
or the level at which they are being held, and it was unclear whether such
contacts could create cracks in the Venezuelan socialist leader’s support from
the military, which is pivotal to his grip on power.
With the Venezuelan military still apparently loyal to
Maduro, a source in Washington close to the opposition expressed doubts whether
the Trump administration has laid enough groundwork to spur a wider mutiny in
the ranks where many officers are suspected of benefiting from corruption and
drug trafficking.
Members of the South American country’s security forces fear
they or their families could be targeted by Maduro if they defect, so the U.S.
would need to offer them something that could outweigh those concerns, said representative
of an American think tank in Washington.
The U.S. government also sees European allies as likely to
do more to prevent Maduro from transferring or hiding Venezuela government
assets held outside the country.
Major European countries have joined the United States in
backing Guaido but they have stopped short of the sweeping oil sanctions and
financial measures that Washington has imposed.
At the same time, the Trump administration is readying
further possible sanctions on Venezuela.
Previous rounds have targeted dozens of Venezuelan military
and government officials, including Maduro himself, and last month finally hit
the OPEC member’s vital oil sector. But the administration has stopped short of
imposing so-called “secondary” sanctions, which would punish non-U.S. companies
for doing business with the Venezuela government or the state oil monopoly
PDVSA.
It is believed that Washington is using all available tools to
apply pressure on Maduro and his associates to accept a legitimate democratic
transition.
The U.S. government is also weighing possible sanctions on
Cuban military and intelligence officials accused of helping Maduro remain in
power.
Maduro’s government has accused Guaido of staging a U.S. directed
coup.
Guaido has actively courted members of the military with
promises of amnesty and preferential legal treatment if they disavow Maduro and
disobey his orders, and Washington this week raised the prospect of dropping
sanctions on senior Venezuelan officers if they recognize Guaido.
Maduro still has the support of the military high command,
and now routinely appears in pre-recorded events at military bases where
officers stand behind him and chant triumphal slogans such as “Loyal always,
traitors never.”
