U.S. and Colombian officials held a private high-level meeting at the Pentagon on Tuesday to share notes on current and future defense capabilities of embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in preparation for a possible American-led intervention.
While the Trump administration has stuck to its position that a peaceful transition of power away from Mr. Maduro is what Washington seeks, acting Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan said the Pentagon is developing a “broad set of contingency plans” should diplomacy fail in Venezuela.
“There are a lot of plates that we’re spinning in the department,” Mr. Shanahan told reporters before heading into the meeting with Colombian Vice President Marta Lucia Ramirez, signaling that the two would discuss the level of loyalty that Venezuelan military leaders have to the Maduro regime.
“We will be talking about Maduro’s military,” Mr. Shanahan said. “It’s an important subject.”
Ms. Ramirez, whose nation shares a 1,400-mile border with Venezuela and has absorbed more than 1 million Venezuelans fleeing poverty and insecurity over the past two years, openly slammed the socialist government in Caracas.
Ms. Ramirez questioned the legitimacy of Mr. Maduro and others upholding his regime. “They did not take power through democracy; they took power through force,” she said. “For us in Colombia, this is an issue of security. It’s an issue of stability.”
Pentagon officials were otherwise mum on the meeting, which came against a backdrop of private Trump administration strategy discussions on Venezuela among Mr. Shanahan, National Security Adviser John R. Bolton, White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph F. Dunford and U.S. Southern Command chief Craig Faller.
In a fresh twist, the Treasury Department announced that it was lifting sanctions leveled against Venezuela’s former intelligence chief, Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera, to reward him for pulling his support for Mr. Maduro.
Mr. Shanahan, meanwhile, suggested that U.S. troops and military resources are prepared should there be a call to action. “Our hemisphere’s security is at stake. And rest assured, the United States will continue to keep all options on the table to ensure regional security,” he said. “The United States will continue to support our neighbors who are overstrained by Venezuelans fleeing the illegitimate Maduro regime and its self-inflicted crisis.”
The U.S. has increased its attention on Russian and Cuban military support for the Maduro regime in recent weeks. Russia has had deep military cooperation with Venezuela over the years, including supplying weapons and aircraft, and sent military advisers to Caracas this year. Mr. Maduro’s foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza, said Monday during a visit Moscow that the presence of Russian military specialists in Venezuela may soon expand.
The assertion came roughly a week after U.S.-backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido and his followers launched the “final phase” of their efforts to drive Mr. Maduro from power in Caracas through popular demonstrations. The push resulted in clashes between protesters and Venezuelan military units that have remained loyal to Mr. Maduro despite U.S. calls for them to abandon him.
Mr. Guaido, who also has the backing of the Organization of American States and several South American leaders, claimed to have secured the support of the Venezuelan military. However, opposition demonstrators were eventually forced to pull back as the military reasserted Mr. Maduro’s control over Caracas.
The situation took a potentially devastating turn Tuesday when Venezuela’s pro-Maduro Supreme Court announced that it was opening a criminal investigation into several lawmakers suspected of supporting Mr. Guaido.
The accused lawmakers were charged with various crimes against the state, including “betraying the homeland” and “instigating an insurrection,” according to The Associated Press. The Maduro regime separately announced that the government would be assuming control of three private airports in an attempt to “guarantee efficiency” and prevent criminal activity.
At the Pentagon, Mr. Shanahan did not comment on any specific U.S. military action that may be under consideration. “The message I want to make sure comes across is that we are very well coordinated and disciplined and have a broad set of contingency plans,” the Pentagon chief said. “For every single option, you want to have a plan.”
The Pentagon has so far deployed the Navy’s hospital ship the USS Comfort on a humanitarian mission to Venezuela and other ports of call in Central and South America. The mission will be the ship’s seventh deployment to the region since 2007 and the second deployment to the Venezuelan coastline in the past six months, Southern Command officials said in a statement Tuesday.
When asked what other options are being weighed, Mr. Shanahan replied: “It’s a full table.”
• Carlo Muñoz can be reached at cmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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