Pence: US Determined to Oust Venezuela’s Maduro and ‘All Options Are On the Table’

Warns Russia, other countries to 'step aside' and let regime change happen

Speaking at the UN Security Council emergency meeting on Venezuela, Vice President Mike Pence said that the United States remains determined to see President Maduro ousted, and that “all options are on the table.”

Venezuela’s Ambassador Samuel Moncada stated the obvious, that this is a threatened US invasion, and urged the council to do something to “stop this war of Donald Trump.”

Pence, by contrast, rejected the idea that anyone could stop the US, saying that Russia and other nations need to “step aside” and let it happen. “This is our neighborhood,” Pence added in comments to reporters, saying Russia needs to immediately withdraw its own military forces and the world needs to recognize the US-backed Guaido as the proper ruler of Venezuela.

Beyond that, Pence demanded that the UN Security Council revoke the ambassador’s credentials and force him to return to Venezuela, saying “you shouldn’t be here.” Russia rejected the comments, accusing the US of having provoked the crisis and saying the people of Venezuela deserve the right to  self-determination.

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.