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The Trump administration has met several times last year and early this year with Venezuelan military officers claiming to be dissidents preparing a coup against President Nicolás Maduro, but ultimately rejected their requests for assistance, according to US officials.
The operation was small and narrow, according to a senior official, who described the meetings as "all attentive. We listen to everyone who wants to talk to us.
President Trump, both publicly and privately, has raised the possibility of US military action in Venezuela, although advisers have repeatedly dissuaded him, according to a number of officials and people familiar with the episodes. and intelligence issues.
Maduro has frequently accused the United States of plotting with his opponents and of economic and real war against him.
According to another person familiar with the meetings, the Trump administration was eager to understand what was happening inside the armed forces.
But "we had very little confidence in the ability of these people to do anything, no idea who they were and how much they had not already exposed," said the person.
The Venezuelan government has not publicly responded to a report on these meetings, which appeared Saturday in The New York Times. A spokesman said Maduro or other officials would comment "at the right time, if they deem it necessary."
Spokesman for the White House National Council, Garrett Marquis, said in a statement that "the US government hears the concerns of Venezuelans of all walks of life – members of the ruling party, security services, elements of society civilians or millions of citizens forced by the regime to flee abroad.
"The political preference for a peaceful and orderly return to democracy in Venezuela remains unchanged," the statement said.
Venezuela is at the heart of hyperinflation and serious humanitarian and political crises that have driven millions of people into other countries of the hemisphere. In a televised speech earlier this year, Maduro called on Pope Francis "to prevent Trump from sending his troops to invade Venezuela."
Trump denounced Maduro, who took over in 2013 after the death of revolutionary leader Hugo Chávez, as a "dictator". Maduro has been twice elected president since then in widely considered fraudulent votes. power and imprisoned many political opponents.
In August 2017, Trump told reporters that "we have many options for Venezuela, including a military option if necessary."
Just prior to these comments, he had raised the matter privately with senior advisers, asking H.R. McMaster, then National Security Advisor, "Why not invade us? We have done this in other parts of the world, "said current and former officials who said McMaster had recommended" other approaches. "
Trump also discussed the possibility of an invasion with Latin American leaders at last year's UN General Assembly, despite efforts by McMaster and others to divert him from the subject.
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The administration imposed sanctions on a number of Venezuelan officials, including senior officers. The authorities have long stated that other measures are under consideration, including a Venezuelan oil embargo. Despite the sharp drop in oil exports in recent years, Venezuela is the fourth largest foreign supplier to the United States, which remains the largest buyer of Venezuelan crude. China and Russia have given massive loans to support the government.
While some administration officials and outside advisers have called for stronger US involvement against Maduro, many have expressed dismay at the political opposition's inability to mobilize co-ordinated resistance and what seems to be a fairly strong support within the military.
Adam Isacson, of the Washington office for Latin America, said that few US administrations would miss the opportunity to meet at least once with alleged conspirators, given the opacity of the Venezuelan army.
"You are trying to understand part of Venezuelan society, the military, which none of us know about", even if the decision to meet several times might be exposed and provoke a reaction brutal in the hemisphere. he is sad.
"It makes no sense to support a military coup in Latin America. They always end badly, but it's worth listening to these people, "said Isacson. "What is their level of discontent? Do they have broad support among the population or are they just renegades? Do they have an honest plan to start the election? The army is a black box.
A majority of Latin American governments have denounced Maduro, as has the Secretary General of the Organization of American States. But all are aware of the unpopular history of US military intervention in the hemisphere, and there is little appetite for a repeat.
Analysts in Caracas were not surprised by the lack of official reaction to these reports. "If they talk about it, they will do it in the middle of a conversation," said Felix Seijas, political analyst and director of the Delphos polling agency. But this "will give them another element to act against the dissidents," he said. "The hurricane will happen inside."
John Hudson in Washington and Rachelle Krygier in Caracas contributed to this report.
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