Trump administration officials reportedly had secret meetings to plot a military coup in Venezuela


Members of the Trump administration over the last year secretly organized meetings with dissenters in the Venezuelan military to negotiate plans to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, The New York Times reported Saturday.
The story cited as its sources 11 U.S. officials as well as a former Venezuelan military commander who was included in the discussions. The plans did not continue, the report says, after a number of the Venezuelan participants were arrested.
The White House declined to give the Times a detailed statement, saying only that the administration supports "dialogue with all Venezuelans who demonstrate a desire for democracy" to "bring positive change to a country that has suffered so much under Maduro."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
While the Maduro regime is increasingly unpopular due to massive shortages of food and other necessities its policies have produced in Venezuela, U.S. interference is unlikely to be favorably received thanks to Washington's messy history of regime change and support of dictatorships in Latin America.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
Israel-US 'rift': is Trump losing patience with Netanyahu?
Today's Big Question US president called for an end to Gaza war and negotiated directly with Hamas to return American hostage, amid rumours of strained relations
-
Zack Polanski: the 'eco-populist' running for Green Party leader
In The Spotlight 'Insurgent' party deputy is making a bid to take the Greens further to the left
-
Do smartphone bans in schools work?
The Explainer Trials in UK, New Zealand, France and the US found prohibition may be only part of the solution
-
British warship repels 'largest Houthi attack to date' in the Red Sea
Speed read Western allies warn of military response to Iranian-backed Yemeni rebels if attacks on ships continue
-
Houthi rebels claim Red Sea ship attacks
speed read Iran-backed Yemeni group vows to escalate aggression towards Israel-linked vessels in revenge for Gaza war
-
Israel plans next phase of Gaza war as first hostages released
Speed read After four-day ceasefire 'we will not stop' until destruction of Hamas, says Israel
-
Mob storms Russian airport 'looking for Jews'
Speed Read Plane from Israel surrounded by rioters chanting antisemitic slogans after landing in Russia's Dagestan region
-
Tuberville's military promotions block is upending lives, combat readiness, 3 military branch chiefs say
Speed Read
-
Ukraine's counteroffensive is making incremental gains. Does it matter in the broader war?
Speed Read
-
US commissions first-ever Navy ship in a foreign port
Speed Read
-
British spy chief, Wagner video suggest Prigozhin is alive and freely 'floating around'
Speed Read