MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th January, 2020) Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro told the Washington Post in an interview that he knew about an attempted coup, led by opposition leader Juan Guaido last April, ten days in advance and allowed the failed ouster to take place to identify those disloyal to him.
On April 30, Guaido, who had illegally declared himself Venezuela's interim president in January, called on the Venezuelan people and the armed forces to take to the streets and ouster Maduro, the country's legitimate president.
Maduro said in an interview published in the early hours of Sunday that he knew of the planned coup ten days before it happened and allowed the failed operation to take place to see which ministers joined Guaido's ranks.
"I let it flow to see how far the tentacles of the conspiracies could get," Maduro said, as quoted by the newspaper.
Supreme Court head Maikel Moreno and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, who had been recruited by Guaido and his allies, ended up informing the president of the planned coup, Maduro said.
Ex-spy chief Gen. Manuel Cristopher Figuera was the most prominent government official to join the opposition side, and fled to Colombia and eventually the United States after the ouster was unsuccessful.
The US and a number of its allies have publicly supported Guaido's attempts to seize power in Venezuela. Maduro has accused the US of trying to orchestrate a coup in the South American country in order to gain access to Venezuela's natural resources.
Maduro stated that his position in power is secure and that Washington and Caracaras should now attempt to normalize relations.
"If there's respect between governments, no matter how big the United States is, and if there's a dialogue, an exchange of truthful information, then be sure we can create a new type of relationship," Maduro stated, as quoted by the newspaper.
After Guaido declared himself interim president, the US imposed a series of sanctions on Venezuela and froze the US-based assets of state oil company PDVSA. Some European nations followed suit by cutting off the government's access to foreign assets.
A number of countries, including Russia, China and Turkey, have said they recognize Maduro as the only legitimate president of Venezuela.
