Speaking to the Italian La Stampa newspaper, Venezuelan opposition leader and self-proclaimed president Juan Guaido has said that he will “perhaps” agree to a US military intervention if it could help resolve the political crisis in his country.
Guaido added that he does not rule out the Venezuelan opposition resorting to a constitutional provision calling for an external military intervention.
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“This is one of the possibilities. We have chosen the path of elections, but the people are suffering so we must responsibly consider [all the options]”, he pointed out.
He claimed that the only foreign units currently present in Venezuela are Cuban servicemen who support President Nicolas Maduro.
When asked to comment on “rumours about the opposition’s meeting with Russian diplomats in Caracas” Guaido noted that the opposition “talks to the countries which are ready to work to put an end to usurpation”.
“Russia has interests and contracts in Venezuela, and we will respect them because we are serious people”, Guaido stressed, adding that the same applies to China and all those calling for a “real solution”.
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Touching upon a recent failed coup attempt, Guaido noted that the opposition “will [now] have more opportunities because more people are joining Operation Liberty”.
After Guaido urged Venezuelan civilians and servicemen to take to the streets to help depose the government on 30 April, President Maduro said, in response, that the commanders of all regions and zones of integral defence had reiterated their full loyalty to the people, constitution and their homeland.
The coup attempt turned violent and resulted in some 240 people being injured, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, for his part, announced that Washington has a "full-scale set of options" to resolve the Venezuelan crisis, claiming that any actions that the US takes would be “lawful”.
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Maduro, in turn, accused the United States of trying to orchestrate a coup in order to install Guaido as its puppet. Russia, China, and a number of other countries have voiced their support for Maduro as the only legitimate president of Venezuela.