Exclusive: Pence to offer 'carrots' to Venezuela military, warnings to judges

By Roberta Rampton

 

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the 148th National Rifle Association (NRA) annual meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., April 26, 2019.   REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is set on Tuesday to offer new incentives to Venezuela's military to turn against President Nicolas Maduro, responding to an attempted uprising that fizzled out last week, a senior administration official told Reuters.

 

In a speech to the Americas Society at the State Department, scheduled for 3:25 p.m. (1925 GMT), Pence will also warn that the United States will soon move to sanction 25 additional magistrates on Venezuela's supreme court, the official said on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

 

Pence will also offer assistance for refugees who have fled the country, and an economic aid package contingent on a political transition, according to the official.

 

Pence's speech will be the first look at the Trump administration's recalibrated strategy following massive street protests last week led by Juan Guaido, the opposition leader backed by the United States and most other Western countries.

 

Guaido had described the protests as the start of his "final phase" to oust Maduro, but mass military defections failed to come to fruition.

 

President Donald Trump has invested considerable political capital in the diplomatic and economic intervention in the Venezuela crisis.

 

Although Guaido's attempted uprising failed to immediately dislodge Maduro, it exposed new fissures within the country, the official said.

 

"A week before last, all the media - including you guys, everybody - was writing about how there's no way forward, complete stalemate," the official said.

"Suddenly last week, everyone woke up."

 

NEW CARROTS, AND A STICK

Guaido, the president of the country's national assembly, invoked Venezuela's constitution in January to declare himself interim president of the country, arguing that Maduro's 2018 re-election was illegitimate.

 

Maduro - who has said Guaido is a puppet of Washington - has sought to show that the military remains on his side, but opposition leaders and U.S. officials have said that support is tenuous.

 

"They sat back in the barracks and they're there, but they don't want to be identified as the institutional source of repression," the official said.

 

Pence will offer new "carrots" to the Venezuelan military, the senior official told Reuters, declining to provide details of the incentives ahead of the speech.

 

"He'll be showing where the opportunities lay if people do the right thing moving forward," the official said.

 

Pence is also set to outline new assistance for Venezuelans who have fled the oil-rich OPEC member, which has been plagued by hyperinflation and shortages of food, water, power and medicine - and a "Day One" economic assistance plan for Venezuela contingent on Maduro's departure, the official added.

 

The vice president in addition will deliver a "warning shot" to magistrates on Venezuela's supreme court. The Treasury Department sanctioned the court's president, Maikel Moreno, in 2017 and the seven principal members of its constitutional chamber - and is now preparing to sanction the 25 remaining members of the court, the official said.

 

"We feel like that's where the pressure needs to be," according to the official.

 

"All 32 magistrates in the TSJ are going to sink or swim together," the official said, using the acronym for Tribunal Supremo de Justicia.

 

The court would be responsible for signing off on any warrant for an arrest of Guaido - a move the U.S. official emphasized would have severe consequences.

 

The United States imposed sweeping sanctions on Venezuela's state-owned oil company, PDVSA, in January. Oil provides 90 percent of export revenue for Venezuela.

 

The administration also continues to work on other responses to increase financial pressure on Maduro, including "secondary sanctions" on companies from other countries that do business with Venezuela, and additional shipping sanctions for oil, the official said.

 

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-05-07

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Just imagine a high ranking member of Putin's government suggesting our military turn against Trump.

3 minutes ago, quandow said:

Just imagine a high ranking member of Putin's government suggesting our military turn against Trump.

Your inability to see the difference is telling. But hey, perhaps a better response would be, so what. Suggest away.

 

 

53 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

Your inability to see the difference is telling. But hey, perhaps a better response would be, so what. Suggest away.

 

 

Then show me the error of my logic.

4 hours ago, quandow said:

Then show me the error of my logic.

 

America good, Russia bad. Simple really. 

 

Trump bad, Hilary good. Simple really.

 

Same logic.

I'm no fan of Maduro and I'm no fan of the USA stepping into the dog poop of other countries. Leave the locals to sort it out. "You broke it you own it" comes to mind. Record of success when stepping into it not all that great, looking at the history. A few spring to mind: Iraq, Chile, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Iran (putting the Shah in power), Guatemala.... I'm sure others could add to the list.

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Pence will also offer assistance for refugees who have fled the country,

Didn't his boss just say recently that there was no more room in the US for asylum seekers? 

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Pence will offer new "carrots" to the Venezuelan military

In Trump's America the rule of law goes to the highest bidder.

2 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

America good, Russia bad. Simple really. 

 

Trump bad, Hilary good. Simple really.

 

Same logic.

7 hours ago, quandow said:

8 hours ago, Nyezhov said:

Your inability to see the difference is telling. But hey, perhaps a better response would be, so what. Suggest away.

Then show me the error of my logic.

Original premis: Just imagine a high ranking member of Putin's government suggesting our military turn against Trump.

 

Well, aside from Putin's recent public talk about nuking Florida and permanently destroying the US east coast, Washington and all its inhabitants with super H-bombs, tidal waves, and dirty radioactive cobalt... The US system has no means by which the US military can oppose a president, government and its citizens.

 

Whereas in Venezuela, Maduro has so misused the military to abuse and kill his own people that he uses Russian backed troops from Cuba for his own safety.  Not to mention his election was a fraud and his compete abuse of the courts and legal system.  See the difference?

Edited May 7, 20197 yr by rabas

Maduro and his Russian, Cuban and Chinese guards will eventually fail him. But then again, I live in Thailand with my family and it is no longer of my concern.

10 hours ago, quandow said:

Just imagine a high ranking member of Putin's government suggesting our military turn against Trump.

 

 

no need to as some believe putin is trumps paymaster already

1 minute ago, atyclb said:

 

 

no need to as some believe putin is trumps paymaster already

Well if some people are silly, conspiracy believing, fascistic Democratic partisans, of course they do. Normal folks dont, after all, we just had a huge investigation by the White Knight-to-save-us-all-from-the-evil-orange-rascist-clown-and-his-deporable-supporters that found.......hey let me whisper to ya.....no collusion....

I am certainly not a fan of Trump and I have some serious concerns about US involvement in Venezuela, but if there is going to be involvement there has to be incentives and on this one assistance and guarantees are the right direction.

 

Now if the Administration would do the same with the Central American countries, there would be a drop in the number of people showing up on the US-Mexican border.   

 

It would be nice to see Venezuelan citizens able to live a peaceful existence and benefit from their oil reserves.   

 

2 hours ago, Credo said:

 

It would be nice to see Venezuelan citizens able to live a peaceful existence and benefit from their oil reserves.   

 

I was there ages ago before the Socialists took over and do what socialists do...ruin countries. It was a great place where most folks did well. Now they all starve.

On 5/7/2019 at 10:44 AM, quandow said:

Then show me the error of my logic.

Read up on what is going on inside Venezuela and do your own homework.