Bolton Vows Action Against Venezuela’s Maduro, Says ‘the Window Is Closing’

Trump aide John Bolton is once again taking the helm in threatening the Venezuelan government, saying that the arrest of the opposition leader’s chief of staff “would not go unanswered,” and that President Maduro made “another big mistake.”

Bolton further declared that the “window is closing” and all Maduro supporters will be “strangled financially” if they don’t accept US demands for regime change. US officials have demanded that Maduro turn over the government to opposition leader Juan Guaido.

The arrest of Roberto Marrero, Guaido’s chief of staff, happened after a pre-dawn raid. Marrero is being accused of plotting attacks on top political figures, and was arrested with two rifles. The US accuses the government of planting these and making up the case.

It’s not clear who is telling the truth, but the US has been trying to sneak “aid” into the country to bolster Guaido, and the person doing this, Elliot Abrams, is known for using humanitarian aid as a guise for arms smuggling, which is both a reason to suggest the US might be trying to ship arms into Venezuela, and that a key opposition figure might suddenly have some guns and plans to do something with them.