Senior White House official John Bolton on Sunday denied that the US was involved in the detonation of several drones on Saturday in what is being described as a failed assassination attempt on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
05.08.2018 - US Not Involved in Maduro Assassination Attempt: Bolton
US Not Involved in Maduro Assassination Attempt: Bolton
Bolton, the US National Security Advisor to US President Donald Trump, asserted that there was no American involvement in the explosions, following accusations by Maduro of complicity and responsibility by actors in neighboring Colombia and the US state of Florida, according to CNBC.com.
"I can say unequivocally there is no US government involvement in this at all," Bolton said in a Sunday interview, cited by Reuters.
The senior Trump appointee raised the possibility that Maduro's own government was responsible for the explosions as a move to consolidate power and crack down on the political opposition, noting the five-year collapse of Venezuela's economy and subsequent unrest.
It could be a lot of things, from a pretext set up by the Maduro regime itself to something else," Bolton claimed, calling on Maduro to show proof of his accusations.
"If the government of Venezuela has
hard information that they want to present to us that would show a potential violation of US criminal law, we will take a serious look at it," Bolton stated, cited by Reuters.
Responsibility for the Saturday blasts was claimed by an obscure Caracas paramilitary group describing themselves as ‘National Movement of Soldiers in T-shirts.'
Maduro, his wife and other members of his cabinet were unharmed in the purported attacks.
07.08.2018 - Powerful Enemy May Be Behind Assassination Attempt on Maduro - Expert
Powerful Enemy May Be Behind Assassination Attempt on Maduro - Expert
Maduro earlier faced a failed assassination attempt with use of explosive-carrying drones during his address at a military parade in Caracas on Saturday. According to the Venezuelan authorities,
Maduro was unharmed, but seven soldiers were injured.
Sputnik discussed the possible perpetrators who might have been behind the events that took place in Caracas with Lazar Kheifets, the lead researcher for the Latin American Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, professor of American Studies at School of International Relations of Saint Petersburg State University, and Konstantin Sapozhnikov, also known as Nil Nikandrov, Russian journalist, Latin Americanist and author of the book ‘Hugo Chávez’.
Sputnik: After the assassination attempt, Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab didn’t exclude the possibility that it had been planned outside of Venezuela. Who do you think can stand behind this attempt? Are there any external authors who would benefit from what happened?
Konstantin Sapozhnikov: All the economic blockades had no effect; they can’t do anything with the Venezuelan government. Although the regime itself is unstable, I think the main battles are still to come. I think Maduro will finally win. The drone attacks scheme is very similar to what is practiced in Syria with attacks on Russian bases, etc. This scheme is very clear and in order to organize it, you need a very powerful infrastructure, trained personnel. Of course, drones can be sold freely in the market, but they are not sold full of powerful explosives, which is why this attack can’t be related to radical opponents. Probably this attack was very well planned and included a coordinator and professionals. The fact that all this happened during the celebration of the 81st anniversary of the National Guard of Venezuela indicates that it was not a coincidence. Everything was very well prepared and intended for the effect, preparing for a coup d’état. However, this coup isn’t going to take place in Venezuela because the Maduro government is controlling the situation.
Lazar Kheifets: Maduro's Government caused discontent not only in the countries of Latin America, there are many international players who want to eliminate it through the use of force. I think Venezuela's attorney general, Tarek William Saab, was referring to the Venezuelan opposition that resides in the US city of Miami, Florida. Trying to guess the possible perpetrators of a terrorist attack is an unproductive method. We need absolutely precise facts here. Flannel Soldiers, a group which claimed responsibility for the attack, carried out similar attacks in the past. Their supposed leader, Venezuelan ex-police officer Óscar Pérez, recently died in a confrontation with the Venezuelan police.
I’m very cautiously dealing with any information that appears on the Internet. May anyone who uploads data there be called an ‘organization’? Flannel Soldiers may have perpetrated the attack on Maduro, but where is the evidence?
Sputnik: Do you think the US could be behind the attempt?
Konstantin Sapozhnikov: Of Course because the US is currently the number one enemy of Caracas. Washington planned many scenarios in Venezuela: suffocate it economically or use the fifth column, but all these methods didn’t pay off. Apparently they decided to put an end to the Venezuelan government in a radical way. Thus the opposition and the struggle in domestic politics have been put in the foreground in Venezuela. I think they counted on that. The fact that Venezuelan government let that happen shows that there’s some complexity within the country’s security agencies. What happened is a signal for Maduro, he’ll respond robustly. I think the attack could have been committed from the territory of Colombia, which is also one of the main enemies of Venezuela. Americans do their job through Colombia, it may be that Colombian specialists have also participated in this attack, but the United States would be the main organizer, inspirer and financier of everything that happened.
Lazar Kheifets: We can make conclusions about the case, but it’s necessary to have proof. All statements here require confirmation.
Sputnik: After the attack, Nicolás Maduro addressed to the nation and accused the Colombian president of being behind the assassination attempt. Why do you think that such accusations were made? Can Santos have anything to do with the attack?
Konstantin Sapozhnikov: Caracas and Bogota had always had problems in their bilateral relations since the early days of the Hugo Chávez government. I believe that in the current attack there is a great Colombian footprint. The Americans, of course, hide behind the Colombian executors, but everything is planned and organized in the CIA. I think there won’t be any consequences in Venezuela, apart from the crackdown. However, in this context, we can’t say that Maduro's regime is tough; it’s actually really mild.
Lazar Kheifets: The Colombian government categorically rejected such a possibility. It’s evident that Venezuela and Colombia have very difficult relationships. There’re several reasons to that. The food crisis in Venezuela affected Colombia when thousands of Venezuelans crossed the border between the two countries to go shopping. The actions carried out by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) also affected the countries’ relations; in fact, the Colombian government has repeatedly accused Venezuela of supporting the FARC. In any case, to accuse Santos, we must have convincing evidence.
The tense relations between Caracas and Bogotá are one of the explanations of Maduro's accusations against Santos. I think that the main problem of today's Venezuela is that there is currently a strong opposition in Venezuela that is unable to reach an agreement with the authorities.
Sputnik: Many political scientists note that Venezuela is pursuing a policy independent of the US in South America, and that it is in Russia's interests. Moreover, some experts believe that there is a comparison to be made between the attack on Maduro, the attempt on the Turkish President and the Turkish coup d’état attempt in 2016. Do you think these events have anything in common?
Konstantin Sapozhnikov believes that there’s a parallel between what happened in Turkey and in Venezuela. This may be due to the fact that both countries have a common enemy represented by the United States.
Konstantin Sapozhnikov: I believe that the US is currently trying to eliminate the supporters of the Bolivarian Revolution and the progressive forces in South America. We can say that those forces that have counteracted the US for a long time are already separated and don’t share any solidarity. A strong blow was struck against Brazil, Ecuador and Nicaragua, which is why it’s clear that a very powerful enemy with great resources and possibilities is acting in the region. I think something similar could happen in Nicaragua. Ecuador is already defeated as President Lenin Moreno has changed everything that was created by his predecessor Rafael Correa.
Russia is another very important aspect to the issue. Five years ago Moscow began to take steps to consolidate its positions in Latin America which caused the US concern. All our potential partners with whom we had a positive cooperation, even in the field of arms supply, have all gone to defense. They’re all are retreating and acting separately. I think the cause of these changes is linked to the US reaction to the fact that Russia had launched a powerful offensive in the region. We can expect anything from them.
Lazar Kheifets: If the events are similar, it doesn’t mean they are interdependent and planned in one center. Currently most of the oil that Venezuela sells abroad, goes to the US. It’s also a well-known fact that Russia maintains close economic ties with Venezuela. Russia’s Rosneft shows great interest in the exploration of Venezuelan oil. However, it’s not necessarily true that the development of economic relations should always lead to conflicts. I don’t like the approach that turns competition in the economic sphere into a global confrontation that leads to the global confrontation implemented by force.
