Venezuela on Edge on Day of Rival Maduro Protests - The New York Times

Venezuela braced for rival protests called by the government and its opponents on Wednesday, and the Trump administration renewed threats of military action, keeping tensions high a day after the opposition renewed its push to oust President Nicolás Maduro.

“Today we continue,” Juan Guaidó, the opposition leader, said on Twitter Wednesday morning. “We will keep it up with more force than ever.”

¡Buenos días! Hoy continuamos, estos son los puntos de la concentración el día de hoy en Caracas. Seguimos con más fuerza que nunca Venezuela. #VamosConTodo https://t.co/Rcp5jAo3U5

— Juan Guaidó (@jguaido) May 1, 2019

The protest against Mr. Maduro, scheduled for May 1, a national holiday for workers in Venezuela, is the latest attempt by the opposition to claim the leadership of a country suffering from a crumbling economy that has left the population lacking food and medical care.

While the opposition has received the backing of more than 50 countries, its momentum on the street has flagged in recent weeks.

The United States backed Mr. Guaidó from the start and has remained a stalwart supporter. The Trump administration would prefer a peaceful transition, said Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, but restated in an interview with the Fox Business Network Wednesday morning that “military action is possible.”

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The remains of motorcycles in Caracas, a day after opposition protesters clashed with government forces.CreditMiguel Gutierrez/EPA, via Shutterstock

“If that’s what’s required, that’s what the United States will do,” Mr. Pompeo said.

On Tuesday, Mr. Guaidó tried to jump-start the drive to remove Mr. Maduro from office, appearing at a military base alongside Leopoldo López, the country’s best-known political prisoner. Mr. López had apparently been freed by security forces, leading many to speculate that a rebellion against Mr. Maduro might be afoot.

But no major military defections occurred, and in the streets, forces loyal to Mr. Maduro clashed with protesters. At least 69 people were wounded on Tuesday, according to a hospital that treated them; Mr. López eventually fled to Spain’s embassy in Caracas.

On Wednesday, pro-government protesters were expected in the streets as well, raising the prospect of further violence.

Mr. Maduro has said he will not back down.

“We are over the shock and surprise, and now we will take this all on with nerves of steel,” he said in a televised address on Tuesday night.

The clashes Tuesday reverberated in Washington, where American officials said they believed top government officials had been preparing to turn on Mr. Maduro. Mr. Pompeo said that Mr. Maduro was prepared to leave the country, but that he had decided not to at the behest of Russia.

A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, told CNN that was not true. “Washington tried its best to demoralize the Venezuelan army, and now used fakes as a part of information war,” she said.

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2019-05-01 14:47:29Z
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Pompeo says military action in Venezuela 'possible' - CNN

"The President has been crystal clear and incredibly consistent. Military action is possible. If that's what's required, that's what the United States will do," Pompeo said on Fox Business Network. "We're trying to do everything we can to avoid violence. We've asked all the parties involved not to engage in the kind of activity. We'd prefer a peaceful transition of government there, where Maduro leaves and a new election is held. But the President has made clear, in the event that there comes a moment -- and we'll all have to make decisions about when that moment is -- and the President will have to ultimately make that decision. He is prepared to do that if that's what's required."

On Wednesday, Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said that the US military was "prepared to support the President should he require more from" them. However, the top US military commander for US forces in Central and South America suggested that he did not see a role for the armed forces in the conflict over Venezuela's disputed leadership.

"Our leadership has been clear this has to be should be primarily a democratic transition," Adm. Craig Faller said Wednesday. "We are in total support of diplomacy and we stand ready to support that effort."

While administrations officials have said that "all options are on the table" since the US first backed opposition leader Juan Guaido, they have failed to voice any concrete plans and stressed that the Venezuelan people should be in control of their future. Experts note that there are sizable challenges to a military intervention.

"While the US has never taken the military option off the table, the US doesn't have forces in the area sufficient for an invasion," said Kevin Ivers, a Latin American expert and vice president of the DCI Group. Ivers said that a US attempt to intervene militarily in Venezuela "would be far more difficult even than Iraq. The terrain, the number of Venezuelan forces, it would have been a much bloodier conflict." He noted that not even neighboring Colombia has forces on the border with Venezuela at the moment, eliminating the possibility that a regional force could act.

Ivers added that armed US intervention -- something Guaido supporters have said they do not want -- "would have meant an end to international support for Guaido, but they always left it on the table to ensure the regime knew they meant business, this was a serious effort, not just for show."

Pompeo's latest rhetoric comes as embattled Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has claimed his troops have defeated a "coup" attempt amid calls by Guaido for protesters to return to the streets Wednesday.

When Guaido announced his interim government in the beginning of the year, he was backed by the US and dozens of other nations. Since then, Venezuela -- which is mired in a deep political and humanitarian crisis -- has had two men claiming to be president.

On Tuesday, Pompeo claimed to CNN's Wolf Blitzer that Maduro was preparing to leave the country for Cuba but was talked out of it by Russia. Moscow has denied the accusation.

National security adviser John Bolton said on CNN's "New Day" Wednesday morning that US national security officials would be meeting about Venezuela later in the day. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan has canceled his international travel set for Wednesday in order to more effectively coordinate with the National Security Council and the State Department on Venezuela, Shanahan's spokesperson said.

CNN's Devan Cole, Ryan Browne, Barbara Starr, Jamie Crawford and Nicole Gauoette contributed to this report.

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2019-05-01 13:40:00Z
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Could Russia and the US come to a deal over Venezuela's Maduro? - CNBC

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro (L) speak at a bilateral meeting on September 3, 2015 in Beijing, China.

Sasha Mordovets | Getty Images News | Getty Images

As unrest continues in Venezuela, some analysts are questioning how much support Russia will give beleaguered President Nicolas Maduro and if Moscow could be ready to strike a deal with the U.S. to end the Latin American country's political and humanitarian crisis.

The U.S. and Russia have traded fresh barbs over Venezuela, each accusing the other of interfering in the country as protesters took to the streets for a second day in support of opposition leader Juan Guaido.

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Maduro was prepared to leave the protest-wracked country Tuesday morning but said he had changed his mind after Russia intervened.

"They had an airplane on the tarmac. He was ready to leave this morning, as we understand it. Russians indicated he should stay," Pompeo told CNN.

Russia rebuffed that accusation, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova saying Wednesday that the U.S. assertion was part of an "information war," Reuters reported.

Deal discussions?

The two sides may be more open to discussing what to do about Venezuela behind closed doors. On Wednesday, during an interview on 'Fox & Friends,' U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton suggested that Pompeo could later hold a call with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. CNBC contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment Wednesday but no one was immediately available.

The U.S. and Russia have already discussed Venezuela at a meeting held in Rome in mid-March between Russia's deputy foreign minister and the U.S. special representative for Venezuela.

Some analysts think that the two heavyweight countries might be coming to some kind of deal over Maduro's potential departure.

"(There's) little doubt in my mind that the Russians and the U.S. have been talking for weeks about some kind of deal to ease Maduro out of office," Timothy Ash, a senior emerging markets strategist at Bluebay Asset Management, said in a note Wednesday.

He said several factors led his to this conclusion — firstly, that Moscow had gained leverage to negotiate with the U.S. by sending military advisers to Caracas and, secondly, that President Trump had so far not signed off on new sanctions on Russia for its alleged use of a chemical weapon following the nerve agent poisoning of former Russian spy, Sergei Skripal, in the U.K. in 2018.

"I think the U.S. administration held back getting Trump to sign this as something was cooking on Venezuela. They saw sanctions as a negotiating chip with Moscow."

Ash believed that, for the Russians, the "deal" was no more sanctions, allowing Russian oil companies to retain the right to operate in Venezuela and get paid back in full for debts owed, and some deal around "spheres of influence."

Battle for influence

The international battle for influence over Venezuela's future kicked off in January when opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself president. Many countries, including the U.S., endorsed that leadership bid and backed regime change in a country wracked by poverty and political unrest.

The military stayed loyal to President Nicolas Maduro, however, and Russia (as well as allies in China, Syria and Iran) backed the incumbent leader.

Russia has a vested interest in backing Maduro after it gave the country financial aid. Reuters estimates that the Russian government and state energy company Rosneft have handed Venezuela at least $17 billion in loans and credit lines since 2006. It has also provided the Venezuelan government with military equipment and it has stakes in the country's energy sector.

As such, Moscow wants to protect its assets from regime change as well as preventing the U.S. from increasing its sphere of influence.

"Russia's bottom line is to stop regime change by external intervention, but if it falls from within they'll go with the flow," Christopher Granville, managing director of EMEA and Global Political Research at TS Lombard, told CNBC Wednesday.

"If the political situation evolves internally and a new regime emerges that is strong and stable I'm sure they would pragmatically support it," he noted. "But a driving force for Russia is to stop a process of regime change by outside forces ... and the U.S. using its power to overthrow governments it doesn't like."

Whatever Russia's distaste for regime change — seen as a hangover from the collapse of the Soviet Union — more analysts have questioned how far Russia is willing to go to protect Maduro.

Eileen Gavin, senior politics analyst at risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, said that, ultimately, Russia "has bigger fish to fry" than Venezuela, but will try to protect its own interests.

"Russia has assets on the ground in Venezuela and has considerable financial interests there and it would want a seat at the table in any discussions over Venezuela's future," she told CNBC Wednesday.

"Their support for Maduro is rhetorical. I think they would be happy to let him go, but they want that seat at the table to protect their assets."

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2019-05-01 13:30:37Z
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Venezuela in crisis as Guaido calls for May Day protests: Live updates - CNN

Protesters stand off with guards in Caracas Tuesday.

Protesters stand off with guards in Caracas Tuesday.Getty Images

One man died in Tuesday's demonstrations, which spanned across 65 cities, according to Venezuelan rights monitoring group Provea.

Two other rights groups in Venezuela -- the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict -- also reported the death.

IACHR also said that protests were held in 24 states and, in at least 12 of the states, were “strongly repressed.”

Provea also said 83 people were arrested as of 8 p.m. Tuesday, citing the monitoring group Foro Penal.

More than 70 people were injured in the clashes and were taken to Salud Chacao Medical Center in Caracas, according to the hospital's president.

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2019-05-01 13:21:00Z
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Venezuela in crisis as Guaido calls for May Day protests: Live updates - CNN

Protesters stand off with guards in Caracas Tuesday.

Protesters stand off with guards in Caracas Tuesday.Getty Images

One man died in Tuesday's demonstrations, which spanned across 65 cities, according to Venezuelan rights monitoring group Provea.

Two other rights groups in Venezuela -- the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict -- also reported the death.

IACHR also said that protests were held in 24 states and, in at least 12 of the states, were “strongly repressed.”

Provea also said 83 people were arrested as of 8 p.m. Tuesday, citing the monitoring group Foro Penal.

More than 70 people were injured in the clashes and were taken to Salud Chacao Medical Center in Caracas, according to the hospital's president.

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2019-05-01 12:52:00Z
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Assange gets 50 weeks in British prison for bail jumping - AOL

LONDON (AP) — A British judge sentenced WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday to 50 weeks in prison for skipping bail seven years ago and holing up in the Ecuadorian embassy.

Judge Deborah Taylor said it was hard to imagine a more serious version of the offense as she gave the 47-year-old hacker a sentence close to the maximum of a year in custody.

She said Assange's seven years in the embassy had cost British taxpayers 16 million pounds ($21 million), and said he sought asylum as a "deliberate attempt to delay justice."

The white-haired Assange stood impassively with his hands clasped while the sentence was read. His supporters in the public gallery at Southwark Crown Court chanted "Shame on you" at the judge as Assange was led away.

The Australian secret-spiller sought asylum in the South American country's London embassy in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he was wanted for questioning over rape and sexual assault allegations.

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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange makes a speech from the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy, in central London, Britain February 5, 2016. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/Files

A supporter of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange holds a banner outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London as he marks three years since Assange claimed asylum in the embassy on June 19, 2015. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange clocks up three years inside the Ecuadoran embassy in London today, after claiming that Swedish prosecutors cancelled a landmark meeting in his case earlier this week. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLIS (Photo credit should read JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

A supporter of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange holds banners outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London as he marks three years since Assange claimed asylum in the embassy on June 19, 2015. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange clocks up three years inside the Ecuadoran embassy in London today, after claiming that Swedish prosecutors cancelled a landmark meeting in his case earlier this week. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLIS (Photo credit should read JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Julian Assange, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of WikiLeaks speaks via video link during a press conference on the occasion of the ten year anniversary celebration of WikiLeaks in Berlin, Germany, October 4, 2016. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appears on screen via video link during his participation as a guest panelist in an International Seminar on the 60th anniversary of the college of Journalists of Chile in Santiago, Chile, July 12, 2016. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido

File photo dated 05/02/16 of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who will publish more confidential documents on the US Central Intelligence Agency once a "key attack code" has been disarmed, he has revealed.

File photo dated 5/2/2016 of Julian Assange who has defended the release of emails by WikiLeaks about US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaking from the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London where he has been living for more than three years after the country granted him political asylum.

BERLIN, GERMANY - OCTOBER 4: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange participates via video link at a news conference marking the 10th anniversary of the secrecy-spilling group in Berlin, Germany on October 4, 2016. (Photo by Maurizio Gambarini/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

The Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet presents in Quito, Ecuador, on June 23, 2016 the Ecuador 's book " When Google found Wikileaks". Julian Assange made his appearance to the world in 2010 with the publication by WikiLeaks of thousands of secret documents revealing conspiracies , corruption, crimes , lies, and incriminate several governments and particularly the United States as the main actor illegalities. (Photo by Rafael Rodr�uez/ACGPHOTO/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 05: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange prepares to speak from the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy where he continues to seek asylum following an extradition request from Sweden in 2012, on February 5, 2016 in London, England. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has insisted that Mr Assange's detention should be brought to an end. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 05: A panel of WikiLeaks representitives and press look on as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks at a press conference at the Frontline Club via video link from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on 5 February 2016 in London, England. Mr Assange's speech comes a day after it was announced that the UN panel ruled he was being unlawfully detained at the Ecuadorian Embassy. (Photo by Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

Australian founder of whistleblowing website, 'WikiLeaks', Julian Assange speaks to media after giving a press conference in London on July 26, 2010. The founder of a website which published tens of thousands of leaked military files about the war in Afghanistan said Monday they showed that the 'course of the war needs to change'. In all, some 92,000 documents dating back to 2004 were released by the whistleblowers' website Wikileaks to the New York Times, Britain's Guardian newspaper, and Germany's Der Spiegel news weekly. Assange also used a press conference in London to dismiss the White House's furious reaction to the disclosures. AFP PHOTO/Leon Neal (Photo credit should read LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images)

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 21: (AUSTRALIA OUT) Wikileaks founder Julian Assange poses during a portrait shoot on May 21, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Chew/Fairfax Media/Fairfax Media via Getty Images).

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Assange's lawyer Mark Summers told a courtroom packed with journalists and WikiLeaks supporters that his client sought refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy because "he was living with overwhelming fear of being rendered to the U.S."

He said Assange had a "well-founded" fear that he would be mistreated and possibly sent to the U.S. detention camp for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay.

Summers read a letter from Assange apologizing for his behavior in 2012 and saying "I did what I thought was best."

"I found myself struggling with terrifying circumstances," the letter said.

Assange was arrested April 11 after Ecuador revoked his political asylum, accusing him of everything from meddling in the nation's foreign affairs to poor hygiene.

He faces a separate court hearing Thursday on a U.S. extradition request. American authorities have charged Assange with conspiring to break into a Pentagon computer system.

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2019-05-01 11:40:54Z
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WikiLeaks's Julian Assange to be sentenced for skipping UK bail - Al Jazeera English

A UK judge sentenced WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to 50 weeks in prison for skipping bail seven years ago and holing up in the Ecuadorian embassy.

Judge Deborah Taylor said it was hard to imagine a more serious version of the offense as she gave the 47-year-old hacker a sentence close to the maximum of a year in custody.

She said Assange's seven years in the embassy had cost UK taxpayers 16 million pounds ($21m), and said he sought asylum as a "deliberate attempt to delay justice".

The white-haired Assange stood impassively with his hands clasped while the sentence was read. His supporters in the public gallery at Southwark Crown Court chanted "Shame on you" at the judge as Assange was led away.

An Australian citizen, Assange sought asylum in the South American country's London embassy in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he was wanted for questioning over rape and sexual assault allegations.

Assange's lawyer Mark Summers told a courtroom packed with journalists and WikiLeaks supporters that his client sought refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy because "he was living with overwhelming fear of being rendered to the US".

He said Assange had a "well-founded" fear that he would be mistreated and possibly sent to the US detention camp for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay.

Summers read a letter from Assange apologising for his behaviour in 2012 and saying "I did what I thought was best".

"I found myself struggling with terrifying circumstances," the letter said.

Assange was arrested April 11 after Ecuador revoked his political asylum, accusing him of everything from meddling in the nation's foreign affairs to poor hygiene.

He faces a separate court hearing on Thursday on a US extradition request. US authorities have charged Assange with conspiring to break into a Pentagon computer system.

Asylum revoked

A bedraggled and sickly looking Assange was dragged out of the embassy building in the UK capital by officers and bundled into a police van after the South American country abruptly revoked his asylum.

Assange, 47, was initially arrested for breaching bail terms and was later found guilty before a London court.

In the earlier hearing, a judge said Assange displayed the "behaviour of a narcissist who cannot get beyond his own selfish interest".

Police said they had been "invited into the embassy by the ambassador, following the Ecuadorean government's withdrawal of asylum".

Assange was arrested upon arrival at a police station on behalf of the United States after it requested his extradition, police added.

US federal prosecutors charged him with computer hacking and aiding whistle-blower Chelsea Manning, which they said carries a potential five-year prison term.

Speaking to reporters outside the court after Assange's arrest, WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson said the case sets a dangerous precedent, and that Assange may face even more charges if he is delivered to the US.

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"Anyone who wants to press to be free should consider the implications of this case. If they will extradite a journalist to the US, then no journalist will be safe."

"There is no assurance that there won't be additional charges when he is on US soil," Hrafnsson added.

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2019-05-01 10:44:00Z
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