After the failure of the April 29 uprising to oust President Nicholas Maduro and second guessing in the Trump White House, the Venezuela opposition is embracing negotiations to end the country’s political ordeal. “The parties will meet this week in Barbados to move forward in the search for an agreed-upon and constitutional solution for the...
Tag: Juan Guaido
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Politics of Oil: CITGO Bond Holders Facing a Guaido Haircut
Reuters reports that Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has hired Cleary Gottlieb, a Washington law firm skilled in debt negotiations, to help him on the path he hopes will bring him to power. The most immediate task for a potential restructuring is protecting Citgo, a U.S. refiner owned by PDVSA [Venezuela’s state-owned oil company]. The...
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Trump Unhappy With Bolton As Maduro Cracks Down in Venezuela
President Trump has reportedly told aides he’s unhappy with National Security Adviser John Bolton in the wake of last week’s failed opposition uprising in Venezuela. According to the Washington Post. Trump has said in recent days that Bolton wants to get him “into a war” — a comment that he has made in jest in...
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Regime Change Illusions: Why the Venezuela Uprising Sputtered
When Manuel Figuera, the chief of the Venezuelan intelligence service (SEBIN), turned on the government of President Nicolas Maduro last week, the Trump administration thought their goal of regime change was in sight. If Figuera joined opposition leader Juan Guaidó’s government in exile, SEBIN could both control the country and secure recognition of Washington. With...
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As U.S. Studies War Options, Venezuela Is Well-Armed
This Foreign Policy piece, “Venezuela is Armed to the Hilt,” written by two analysts from the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute, is based on the dubious premise that the Venezuelan armed forces are falling apart. The Trump administration and opposition leader Juan Guaido believed that key senior officers would abandon the government. They didn’t. Without significant...