The opposition leader Juan Guaidó began approaching the US military after failing to break the support of the Armed Forces to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, with street demonstrations whose strength declined after a failed military uprising.
Instructed by Guaidó, his representative in Washington, Carlos Vecchio, requested a meeting in the next few days with Craig Faller, head of the Southern Command of the United States, the military unit responsible for Latin America.
In a letter released on Monday, Vecchio asked that the meeting address issues of cooperation and planning to alleviate the suffering of the Venezuelan people and restore democracy.
Thus, for the first time it was publicly known that the Guaidó camp, a parliamentary leader recognized as interim president by more than 50 countries, seeks direct contact with the United States military, a country that does not rule out a military option in the face of the Venezuelan crisis.
Last week, Faller warned the Venezuelan army that it must decide whether to support the people or a tyrant, in reference to Maduro.
The government of Maduro, which continues to count on the support of the military leadership, in addition to Russia and China, described this step taken by Guaidó’s team as full of anger.
The tension increased during the night, after the police began an operation to evict the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, taken several weeks ago by US activists opposed to the entrance of the delegation led by Vecchio.
However, after midnight the eviction operation had not yet taken place: four activists refused to leave the headquarters, while the police – who initially opened the chains and the padlock that secured the embassy door – guarded the building.