National Security
Tensions between U.S., Russia surface at Security Council meeting on Venezuela
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the United Nations to “pick a side” and support the transitional government in Venezuela. (Jason Szenes/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
By Carol Morello
January 26 at 7:26 AM PT
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the United Nations to “pick a side” and support the transitional government in Venezuela seeking to topple what he called the “mafia state” run by President Nicolás Maduro.
“Either you stand with the forces of freedom, or you’re in league with Maduro and his mayhem,” Pompeo said Saturday morning in a relatively rare appearance at an emergency meeting of the Security Council called by the United States.
From the beginning, however, it was clear that Russia would use its veto power as a permanent member of the council to scuttle a resolution supporting the transitional government and Juan Guaidó, an opposition leader who declared himself president on Wednesday. Vasily Nebenzya, Russian ambassador to the U.N., argued Venezuela is not a matter for the Security Council because it represents no threat to peace and security.
“If anything represents a threat to peace and security, it is the shameless and aggressive actions of the United States and their allies to oust a legitimately elected president of Venezuela,” he said, accusing Washington of an “attempt to engineer a coup d’etat.”
The United States already has recognized Guaidó as the legitimate president of Venezuela, setting off a standoff between Washington and Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. Maduro has ordered the expulsion of all U.S. diplomats. Though the State Department has pulled out nonessential diplomats and families of employees, it has left behind a core group and said Maduro is a “former president” whose orders have no authority.
With Maduro’s 72-hour deadline for the diplomats to leave approaching Saturday afternoon, Pompeo again warned the Maduro government and its military not to harm them.
“I want to be 100 percent clear — President Trump and I fully expect that our diplomats will continue to receive protections provided under the Vienna Convention,” he said. “Do not test the United States on our resolve to protect our own people.”
Russia, which has offered to mediate between Maduro’s government and the opposition, has warned the United States not to intervene. Russia recently deployed two bombers to Venezuela, leading Pompeo to accuse both countries of “squandering public funds, and squelching liberty and freedom while their people suffer.”
The United States is eager to show its support for Guaidó in concrete terms, hoping that its backing will rally civilians and military officials to Guaidó’s side. Pompeo announced last week a U.S. grant of $20 million for food and medicine to Venezuelans.
Carol Morello is the diplomatic correspondent for The Washington Post, covering the State Department. She previously wrote about demographics and the census. She has worked at The Post since 2000. Before that, she was a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and USA Today.
Democracy Dies in Darkness
Tensions between U.S., Russia surface at Security Council meeting on Venezuela
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the United Nations to “pick a side” and support the transitional government in Venezuela. (Jason Szenes/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
By Carol Morello
January 26 at 7:26 AM PT
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the United Nations to “pick a side” and support the transitional government in Venezuela seeking to topple what he called the “mafia state” run by President Nicolás Maduro.
“Either you stand with the forces of freedom, or you’re in league with Maduro and his mayhem,” Pompeo said Saturday morning in a relatively rare appearance at an emergency meeting of the Security Council called by the United States.
From the beginning, however, it was clear that Russia would use its veto power as a permanent member of the council to scuttle a resolution supporting the transitional government and Juan Guaidó, an opposition leader who declared himself president on Wednesday. Vasily Nebenzya, Russian ambassador to the U.N., argued Venezuela is not a matter for the Security Council because it represents no threat to peace and security.
“If anything represents a threat to peace and security, it is the shameless and aggressive actions of the United States and their allies to oust a legitimately elected president of Venezuela,” he said, accusing Washington of an “attempt to engineer a coup d’etat.”
The United States already has recognized Guaidó as the legitimate president of Venezuela, setting off a standoff between Washington and Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. Maduro has ordered the expulsion of all U.S. diplomats. Though the State Department has pulled out nonessential diplomats and families of employees, it has left behind a core group and said Maduro is a “former president” whose orders have no authority.
With Maduro’s 72-hour deadline for the diplomats to leave approaching Saturday afternoon, Pompeo again warned the Maduro government and its military not to harm them.
“I want to be 100 percent clear — President Trump and I fully expect that our diplomats will continue to receive protections provided under the Vienna Convention,” he said. “Do not test the United States on our resolve to protect our own people.”
Russia, which has offered to mediate between Maduro’s government and the opposition, has warned the United States not to intervene. Russia recently deployed two bombers to Venezuela, leading Pompeo to accuse both countries of “squandering public funds, and squelching liberty and freedom while their people suffer.”
The United States is eager to show its support for Guaidó in concrete terms, hoping that its backing will rally civilians and military officials to Guaidó’s side. Pompeo announced last week a U.S. grant of $20 million for food and medicine to Venezuelans.
Carol Morello is the diplomatic correspondent for The Washington Post, covering the State Department. She previously wrote about demographics and the census. She has worked at The Post since 2000. Before that, she was a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and USA Today.
Democracy Dies in Darkness
