The United States admitted to interfering in the internal affairs of sovereign states, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. So she commented on the statement by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the Americans are working on a project to change power in Venezuela.

“Here you are, comrades, and the international law performed by Washington. We have heard the direct recognition of the US Secretary of State in his country’s implementation of campaigns to destabilize the situation in sovereign states. ... Words proving once again that the United States never abandoned the tactics of interfering in the affairs of independent states and the policy of regime change. Through soft power or through provocations and coups d'etat, this is decided in each case in different ways, ”Zakharova wrote in her Facebook.

Pompeo spoke about the American project of a change of power in Venezuela in an interview with the Colombian television channel Caracol TV. According to him, Washington is working to create an appropriate coalition that would include both the neighboring countries of Venezuela and the citizens of the Bolivarian Republic itself.

“There should be a lot of people, including people from Venezuela, who must hold their leadership accountable for the restoration of democracy. The goal of our joint mission is to achieve the departure of Maduro. I met with Venezuelan President Juan Guaido (the US considers him the legitimate head of the Latin American state, RT ), he talked about it, spoke about the terrorist threat to the citizens of his country, ”said Pompeo.

He noted that the United States has a long-term strategy for changing power in Venezuela, which over time will bear fruit, as the strategy for the "collapse of the USSR" has borne fruit.

Recall that the United States does not officially recognize Nicolas Maduro as the country's legitimate leader. Washington believes that the head of state is opposition leader Juan Guaido. Pompeo held a meeting with him in the capital of Colombia, Bogota. Here, the leader of the Venezuelan opposition took part in a conference on the fight against terrorism.

In the same interview, Pompeo questioned the possibility of negotiations between Maduro and US President Donald Trump. The Venezuelan leader said earlier that he was ready for a dialogue with his American counterpart and a revision of relations with Washington, subject to "mutual respect." Responsibility for the crisis in relations between Washington and Caracas Maduro personally assigned to the head of the US State Department.

“I believe that Mike Pompeo failed in Venezuela and is responsible for the failure of Donald Trump’s political course towards our country. I think Pompeo lives in a fantasy world. He does not demonstrate sobriety of thinking, ”said the Venezuelan president in an interview with The Washington Post.

Maduro referred Pompeo to the “simply terrible” staff of the Trump administration, because of which the head of the White House developed a “wrong vision of the situation.”

  • The action of supporters of Nicolas Maduro
  • Reuters
  • © Carlos Garcia Rawlins

"Take on a fright"

Pompeo’s statement that the United States is preparing plans to change power in Venezuela is a measure of psychological impact on official Caracas, said Boris Martynov, head of the Department of International Relations and Foreign Policy of Russia at MGIMO.

“This, so to speak, is the last attempt to frighten the leadership of Venezuela. In addition, Pompeo wants to scare a little and consolidate the Latin American supporters of the overthrow of Maduro. Too many of the opponents of the Venezuelan president are ready to fight against him only in words, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

According to Martynov, it will not work to frighten the Venezuelan leadership, since now the official Caracas is feeling quite confident. Despite all efforts, the United States failed to create a strong international coalition against Maduro or completely isolate Venezuela in the international arena. As a result, Washington’s policy towards this country is at an impasse.

“I do not see any leverage in the United States to increase pressure on Venezuela. They already did everything to destroy the country's economy, plus, unfortunately, the Venezuelan authorities themselves “helped” them with their inept economic actions. The situation has bottomed out, but nothing has changed in favor of the United States, ”Martynov said.

In his opinion, Maduro is right in saying that the Trump administration does not correctly assess the situation in Venezuela. However, Martynov believes that the fault here is not so much Pompeo as Barack Obama. It was the administration of the past US president that chose the wrong line of conduct with respect to Venezuela, and Trump should follow it quite clearly, the expert believes.

“Washington has forgotten the golden rule: in Latin America, the president and the military are making politics. But Obama and the Democrats decided that we need to work with "civil society." But this is not a model that could work in Venezuela, ”Martynov says.

He notes that Maduro’s position is strong both in the army and among the people.

“Under these conditions, it is not clear what else the Americans can do. Armed intervention? But for this you need to enlist the support of neighboring countries: Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil. But no matter how they relate to Maduro, for Latin Americans the principle of sovereignty is sacred. Therefore, even Colombia will not go for intervention. But if she goes, it will be a disaster for her, ”the expert believes.

An interview with the head of the State Department appeared against the backdrop of another round of aggravation of relations between Venezuela and neighboring Colombia, which is supported by the United States.

José Salazar, the director of political affairs at the Colombian Foreign Ministry, directly accused official Caracas of supporting the left-wing rebel group, the Army of National Liberation (ANO, also known by the Spanish abbreviation ELN). Unlike another major local anti-government organization, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC, Spanish abbreviation FARC), it did not lay down its arms and continues to hostilities. ANO US Department of State ranks as terrorist organizations.

Also in Bogota, at a conference on combating terrorism, Venezuela was accused of having links with the Lebanese Hezbollah group and that part of the FARC that does not agree to peace with the Colombian government.

  • Nicholas Maduro
  • Reuters
  • © Manaure Quintero

Pompeo vs Maduro

However, the Pompeo statement has another goal - the head of the State Department wants to disrupt the possible rapprochement between Washington and Caracas, experts say.

As Nikolai Kalashnikov, deputy director of the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted in an interview with RT, Pompeo enjoys a reputation as a hard-liner in relation to Venezuela. Pompeo's statement looks like a kind of “conservative manifesto” in US foreign policy, Martynov said in turn.

“The head of the State Department sincerely believes that it is necessary not to negotiate with Maduro, but to change him,” the expert is sure.

Meanwhile, in an interview with The Washington Post, the Venezuelan leader offers the United States to abandon confrontation and blames Trump's entourage for the crisis between the two countries, including the head of the State Department.

“I think the Pompeo statement is a reaction to Maduro’s interview. He seems to be saying to the Venezuelan leader and Trump: negotiations are not needed, everything, the road is closed in this direction. I do not exclude the possibility that the United States actually does not have and never had any well-thought-out long-term plan for a change of power in Venezuela. Saying that he is, the head of the State Department, perhaps, wants to push Trump to decisive, and Maduro - to thoughtless actions, ”Kalashnikov believes.

According to the expert, in this case, Pompeo does not risk anything. His statement, most likely, will not cause an international scandal that will force Trump to remove the head of the State Department.

“In essence, Pompeo said nothing radically new. And before it was clear that the United States was unhappy with Maduro, and before it was clear that they wanted his departure. Perhaps the allies of Venezuela will come up with a protest at the UN. But there will be no particular scandal, ”predicts Kalashnikov.

Martynov also believes that the international reaction to Pompeo’s statement will be sluggish.

“In theory, of course, his words should have led to general outrage. But in reality, of course, it will be different. We live in a very difficult environment of transition from one world order to another. Unfortunately, the recognized norms of international law are becoming more and more showcase. And this happens precisely thanks to the United States, which is coming up with its own rules of behavior in the international arena and trying to impose them on everyone else, ”the expert sums up.