Supersession Briefing

After yesterday’s tweets and the leak on CNN, members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee were briefed by CIA officials this morning, Sunday, February 3rd. These Senators received confirmation that a successful military coup took place in Venezuela and that there was involvement from the United States as an act of U.S. foreign policy. All communications took place through backchannels. The CIA also provided financing for this coup. Though we do not know all the details yet, what we do know is that President Trump previously had supported the opposition leader who proclaimed himself as the interim-President, Juan Guaido, and had denounced Nicolas Maduro, who was claiming that he was still President. The EU parliament, Canada, and other South American countries had also recognized Juan Guaido as President. However, Nicolas Maduro had the backing of the military armed forces, and while he said he was all for dialogue with the opposition, he continued to perpetuate more bloodshed in his country. As a result of the coup, Nicolas Maduro is now dead. Juan Guaido is currently missing.

There were backchannel negotiations that took place between the CIA and leaders of the Venezuelan armed forces. What we know so far is the CIA provided financing for the coup that was contingent upon Juan Guaido being put into power as the President of Venezuela. Delcy Rodriguez was informed of these negotiations by someone privy to the conversation. We don’t know what the military leaders were promised or guaranteed, but what we do know is that she is being supported as the President of Venezuela by top military officials. The country has exploded into further chaos.

Information from a credible source states that Colombian rebels have been more active on the Venezuelan-Colombian border. Shots have been reported by those living close to the border. The UN High Commissioner on Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said in a press briefing moments ago that there is strong evidence suggesting that the current humanitarian crisis in Latin America will likely become worse than Syria should current conditions continue to persist. This will undoubtedly lead to more people seeking asylum and refugee status in the United States and Canada” to which President Trump replied with a tweet, “No more refugees #asecondcaravan #andathirdcaravan”.