A possible US military intervention in Venezuela, which is being considered as an option by Washington, could set the other Latin American countries against the United States and push the Venezuelans to rally around the country's legitimate President Nicolas Maduro even further, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Col. Gen. Alexander Fomin told the RT broadcaster
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2019) A possible US military intervention in Venezuela, which is being considered as an option by Washington, could set the other Latin American countries against the United States and push the Venezuelans to rally around the country's legitimate President Nicolas Maduro even further, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Col. Gen. Alexander Fomin told the RT broadcaster."The situation [in Venezuela] is complicated. The United States, of course, keeps the use of force in stock, which they [use] to frighten everyone. At the same time, one should understand that the use of force is not in the interest of the United States because it could further consolidate the population around the current government of Venezuela and ... set the regional Latin American countries against the United States," Fomin said.
The deputy defense minister stressed that Russia supported the legally elected Venezuelan leadership through military industry cooperation, and that Venezuela was prepared to repel a possible attack.
In March, nationwide recurring electricity blackouts began in Venezuela. Maduro pinned the blame for power outages on the United States, while Washington denied the accusations.
"You see that the operation called 'Blackout' is happening. This is a planned and man-made shutdown of energy facilities, which also has a negative effect on the atmosphere in the country and only exacerbates the existing crisis, primarily the economic crisis," Fomin noted.
In January, US-backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido illegally declared himself interim president of Venezuela after disputing Maduro's reelection victory in May. Washington immediately endorsed Guaido and called on Maduro to step down.
Maduro has accused the United States of trying to orchestrate a coup in order to install Guaido as a US puppet. Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia, Turkey and a number of other countries have voiced their support for Maduro as the only legitimate president of Venezuela.
