Venezuela’s Guaido Won’t Rule Out Authorizing US Military Intervention

Says he'll do 'everything that is necessary'

With the power struggle between Venezuela’s President Maduro and US-backed interim-president Juan Guaido continuing, Guaido now says he will not rule out personally authorizing a US military intervention to force Maduro out.

Guaido says he will “do everything that is necessary,” saying his goal is to generate “governability and stability to deal with the emergency.” He admitted that a US invasion is a “very controversial subject.”

That’s putting it mildly. Maduro’s ability to maintain power for years has rested on having the support of the military, and portraying his opponents as US puppets trying to foster a coup. With Guaido, the US is now very public about how much they endorse his rule, and how open they are to attacking Venezuela to make that happen.

As the US continues to scorn international efforts to resolve the situation with negotiations, the Pentagon is trying to convince more Venezuelan military personnel to defect. So far that doesn’t seem to be having much impact.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.