Maduro’s days are numbered: Pompeo
washington — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed confidence on Sunday that embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s “days are numbered,” amid a violent impasse over humanitarian aid.
“Predictions are difficult. Picking exact days is difficult,” Pompeo said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I’m confident that the Venezuelan people will ensure that Maduro’s days are numbered.”
Pompeo’s remarks came a day after a US-supported, oppositionled effort to bring humanitarian supplies into the country was repelled by Venezuelan border troops firing tear gas and rubber bullets.
Maduro, vowing to “never bow down” at a rally in Caracas, severed relations with neighbouring Colombia for supporting the opposition bid.
Pompeo blamed armed Maduro loyalists known as “collectivos” for most of the violence at border crossings.
“We hope the military will take that role back in protecting their citizens from these tragedies. If that happens, I think good things will happen,” he said.
The military command has pledged absolute loyalty to Maduro, although some officers and soldiers have deserted, heeding opposition appeals that they switch sides.
Pompeo said the United States, which recognises opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s interim president, remains committed to bringing in aid.
“We’re aimed at a singular mission — ensuring the Venezuelan people get the democracy they so richly deserve and the Cubans and the Russians who have been driving this country into the ground for years and years and years no longer hold sway,” he said. Guaido called on the international community to consider “all measures to free” Venezuela after clashes at the border crossing left at least two people dead.
The European Union condemned Maduro’s government for its use of violence.
Guaido announced he would participate in Lima Group meeting of mostly Latin American countries in Bogota, and called on the international community to be prepared for “all possibilities” regarding Maduro.
Trucks with aid were prevented from entering the country, and force was used to keep out Venezuelan
Predictions are difficult. Picking exact days is difficult. I’m confident that the Venezuelan people will ensure that Maduro’s days are numbered.
Mike Pompeo, US secretary of state
nationals trying to cross in from Colombia carrying aid parcels. International aid is also being held on the Caribbean island of Curacao.
A ship with aid from Puerto Rico was forced to turn back after receiving a “direct threat of fire” from Venezuela’s military, the governor of the US territory Ricardo Rossello said.
He slammed the move as “unacceptable and outrageous.”
Protesters in the border towns of Urena were kept at bay by the Venezuelan National Guard firing tear gas and rubber bullets.
Gunshots could be heard in the streets of Urena during hours of rioting. Civil defence officials in Colombia said at least 285 people had been injured in clashes at border bridge crossings.
But the most serious incident came hundreds of kilometres away, at the Santa Elena de Uairen crossing point on the southern border with Brazil where the killings took place. —