CIA Director Admits US Collaborating with Colombia, Mexico to Overthrow Venezuelan Government Global Research
go to original July 27, 2017

More than 100 people have been killed in clashes between protesters and police over the past four months (AFP)

US Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo has admitted the US is working to change the elected government of Venezuela, and collaborating with Colombia and Mexico to do so. While it’s the first public acknowledgement of US meddling in the embattled country, Latin American political analysts likely won’t be surprised.

Speaking at a Q&A session at the Aspen Institute think tank’s annual security forum, Pompeo said he was “very hopeful” of a “transition” in Venezuela.

“I was in Mexico City and Bogota a week before last talking about this, trying to help them understand [what] they might do so they can get a better outcome for their part of the world and our part of the world. I’m always careful when we talk about South and Central America and the CIA, but suffice to say, we’re very hopeful there can be a transition in Venezuela and we [are] doing [our] best to understand the dynamic there, so that we can communicate to our State Department and to others,” he said.

Colombia and Mexico have been quick to refute Pompeo’s allegations, both issuing eerily similar statements attesting to their mutual respect for international law and rejecting the existence of any plan or desire to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro‘s administration on either of their parts.

Despite their protestations, Pompeo’s statement sparked understandable outcry in Caracas, with Maduro slamming the US, Colombia and Mexico alike.

“The director of the CIA has said the CIA and US government is working in direct collaboration with the Mexican and Colombian government to overthrow the government and intervene in our beloved Venezuela. I demand the governments of Mexico and Colombia properly clarify the declarations and I will make political and diplomatic decisions accordingly before this audacity,” he said.

The exposure comes as both Maduro and Venezuela face mounting problems, with food shortages and soaring inflation — produced by the US ongoing official economic war against the country — producing much unrest, and protests sparked by the decision of the Supreme Court to absorb legislative powers from the opposition-controlled National Assembly raging since April. They have endured despite the Court reversing the ruling.

Opponents are also angry about Maduro’s plan to press ahead with a vote for a Constitutional Assembly on July 30, claiming the rules of the Assembly ensure a majority for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela — in turn, Maduro claims it’s the only way to restore harmony.

Critics may find Pompeo’s statements ironic given the ongoing uproar in mainstream US discourse about Russia’s interference in the 2016 Presidential election — allegations based on evidence-free claims issued by anonymous sources which have been refuted by cybersecurity experts and former intelligence professionals.

Read the rest at Global Research

Related: Three Killed in Venezuela as Opposition Strike Begins (Al Jazeera)

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