Mike Pompeo: "Maduro had a plane ready to go to Cuba and the Russians told him that he should stay"

US Chief of Diplomacy Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday that President Nicolás Maduro was ready to leave Venezuela until he was deterred by Russia.

"He had a plane on the runway, he was ready to leave this morning, as far as we know, and the Russians told him that he should stay", Pompeo said in an interview to CNN in which he baderted that the president had the intention of escaping to Havana.

When asked if he had a message for the president, Pompeo simply replied: "Turn on the plane."

So began the interview with Mike Pompeo

The state secretary and former director of the CIA refused to provide the source of this information but said that the United States had interrogated "dozens and dozens of people on the ground" in addition to the fact. ;other documents.

The White House said earlier that three senior Venezuelan government officials, including the defense minister, had pledged to "support the overthrow" of Maduro.

China, Cuba and Russia remain key allies of Maduro, which controls a country in severe economic crisis, with inflation projected by the IMF of 10 000 000% this year and a deep humanitarian crisis resulting from shortages that forced millions Venezuelans flee the country.

Many US officials blame Cuba for being one of the pillars of Maduro.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez called Bolton a "pathological liar who disinforms" Trump and badured that there were no Cuban troops in Venezuela.

"As for the Cubans, we had the opportunity to tell them that we find it unacceptable that they protect this bully"said the secretary of state.

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, threatened Cuba with a "total" embargo and sanctions if he did not stop supporting the Venezuelan president, while the island is already doing so. 39, subject to heavy penalties.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez described Bolton as "a pathological liar who disinforms" Trump and "energetically" rejected his threat of total blockade.