Juan Guaidó: "We do not exclude US military aid"

The acting president of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, recognized Saturday mistakes made during the Libertad operation that led against Nicolás Maduro's regime and did not rule out a US military option in Venezuela with troops who rebelled against Chavismo, claiming that any offer of this guy in Washington would be subject to a vote in the National Assembly of the country (Parliament, with the majority of the opposition).

In an exclusive interview with The Washington Post, Guaidó admitted that his team had miscalculated the support he had in the army and he hoped that Maduro would resign in the midst of a wave of desertions within the Chavist forces for his call to join the mobilized populations in the streets of Venezuela.

"We still need more soldiers, and maybe we need more government officials willing to support us, to support the Constitution"Guaidó said this Saturday. "I think the variables are obvious at this point."

Guaidó – the head of the National Assembly who in January declared Maduro the usurper of the post and was appointed interim president of Venezuela. He clarified that he did not support a unilateral military intervention by the United States, but rather He proposes a coordinated American collaboration with the Venezuelan forces who have turned against Maduro. "But he did not give any more details on what would be acceptable," said Anthony Faiola, correspondent for Washington Post who interviewed him in Caracas.

When asked what he would do if John Bolton, Donald Trump 's national security adviser, called him with a US intervention proposal, Mr. Guaidó replied that he would do so. he would react as follows: "Dear friend, thank you for all the help you have brought to the right cause. Thank you for the option, we will evaluate it and probably consider it in Parliament to resolve this crisis. If necessary, we can approve it ".

These comments are among the strongest that Juan Guaidó has made so far on the delicate issue of foreign military badistance for the restoration of democracy in Venezuela.

Guaidó said he welcomed the recent deliberations in Washington on military options, calling them "good news". And he explained: "This is good news for Venezuela because we are evaluating all the options. It is good to know that important allies like the United States are also evaluating this option. This gives us the possibility that if we need cooperation, we know we can get it ".

"I think that there are a lot of Venezuelan soldiers who want to end the collective (armed bands linked to the Chavez government) and help to get humanitarian aid, who would be happy to receive cooperation to end to usurpation, and if that includes the cooperation of honorable countries like the United States, I think that would be an option, "he added.

Guaidó's project of being the legitimate president of Venezuela has been recognized by more than 50 countries and strongly supported by the Trump government. Guaidó said that he had been in contact with US officials this week.

On the other hand, although the international community increasingly calls on the opposition to sit down with Maduro to resolve the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, Guaidó reiterated that he refused to dialogue without the precondition that Maduro would withdraw from power.

"Sitting with Maduro is not an option," he said. And he concluded: "That happened in 2014, in 2016, in 2017. The end of the usurpation is a prerequisite for any possible dialogue."