Speaking at an event earlier today, Juan Guaido became the latest politician to comment on the news from earlier this week that the White House and the Maduro regime have been engaging in secret talks for weeks, claiming that he knew that they were taking place.
Guaido said that he was aware of the talks between high-ranking members of the Maduro and Trump governments, and suggested that the talks were part of a wider array of “pressure mechanism” with the goal of restoring democracy in Venezuela.
Two days ago, the Associated Press reported that officials from the White House were engaged in secret talks with Diosdado Cabello, the most powerful man in Venezuela after Maduro. While Cabello denied the story, both Maduro and Trump later confirmed that the talks were taking place.
Guaido added a twist to the story during his press conference today, suggesting that Maduro saw himself forced to admit to the existence of the talks to save face, but that he was actually out of the loop. Guaido said:
Maduro, the usurper, is desperate, and [he’s] so clumsy that he had to come out and respond to this story (…) He was pretending like he was part of these talks…
USNS Comfort Anchored Off Colombia, Receiving Venezuelan Patients
The USNS Comfort, a United State Navy hospital ship, is now treating Venezuelans patients from while off the coast of Santa Marta, Colombia.
News of the ship’s arrival in the area came from U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo several days ago:
El Nacional reported today that the officer in charge of the ship’s medical operations, Charles Cather, reported that 480 people had received medical attention aboard the ship since it arrived in the region.
Humberto Calderon, the opposition ambassador to Colombia, tweeted images earlier today of people waiting to receive care aboard the ship:
Hundreds of Venezuelans are waiting in the Great Colosseum to be pre-screened so that they can be sent to specialists aboard the USNS Comfort. We are here spending time with our fellow countrymen and listening to their stories of how they survived under the Venezuelan dictatorship.
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