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US Not Planning Military Intervention in Venezuela, But Option on Table - Bolton

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States has no plans for an imminent military intervention in Venezuela, but all options with regard to the situation in that county remain on the table, US National Security Advisor John Bolton said on Friday.
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"No, the President said all options are on the table," Bolton said during a radio interview when asked whether military intervention in Venezuela was imminent. "Our objective is a peaceful transfer of power. And that’s why we’ve been imposing economic sanctions, increasing political pressure from around the world".

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Bolton pointed out there is overwhelming support among Latin American countries for a transfer of power away from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to Juan Guaido, the self-proclaimed interim president of the country.

“This is not a made in the USA effort. This is a made in Venezuela effort, fully supported across the board, all kinds of different governments in Latin America supporting Juan Guaido, the interim president,” Bolton said.

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Bolton claimed he and US President Donald Trump talk several times a day about the situation in Venezuela, and there is a whole range of economic and political steps that remain to be taken.

Bolton was earlier photographed with a yellow pad that raised questions about whether the White House was planning to deploy armed forces to Colombia amid the presidential crisis in neighbouring Venezuela.

On 23 January, the speaker of the opposition-led Venezuelan National Assembly, Guaido, declared himself interim head of state amid ongoing anti-government protests. The United States and a number of other countries, which disputed last year’s re-election of President Nicholas Maduro, have recognized the opposition leader. Maduro slammed Guaido as a US "puppet" and accused Washington of organizing a coup in the country.

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