United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday told Venezuelans that it is now time to effect a transition in the country’s government. In a video posted on Twitter, he said the United States “stands firmly with you in your quest for freedom and democracy”.
“Last month, I visited Colombia, and saw first hand the misery [Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro has created with the Russians and the Cubans’ help,” Pompeo said. “The same scenes of desperation are playing out all across Venezuela. The time for transition is now. No more starvation, no more children without medicine, no more repression.”
“The United States stands firmly with you in your quest,” Pompeo added.
Meanwhile, a Venezuelan military helicopter crashed near the country’s capital, Caracas, on Saturday, killing all seven people on board, The Guardian reported. The chopper was to fly from Caracas to the state of Cojedes. Authorities have begun an investigation into the accident.
Maduro was in Cojedes on Saturday to watch Army drills. He claimed that the drills showed Venezuela’s military readiness should the United States attack.
Protestors had clashed with police on the streets of Caracas on May 1, motivated by Venezuelan Opposition leader Juan Guaidó’s exhortation to the military to rise against the rule of Maduro. However, Maduro claimed that he had successfully defeated the coup attempt.
On Friday, Guaido urged the military to rise up against Maduro. “Peacefully, civically...we are going to deliver a simple document, a proclamation to the Armed Forces to listen to the Venezuelan call, that a rapid transition is possible to produce free elections,” he said at a press conference according to Al Jazeera.
Guaidó had assumed the presidency in January after claiming that Maduro’s re-election in 2018 was fraudulent. Venezuela plunged into political turmoil after the United States endorsed Guaidó as president. Guaidó is the leader of the Opposition-led National Assembly, a body Maduro does not recognise. On January 23, Maduro cut diplomatic ties with the US and gave American diplomatic personnel 72 hours to leave the country. However, he later reversed the order.
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