The AP learned about the secret visit of Guido in the United States before declaring himself President of Venezuela
KIEV. 26 Jan. UNN. The coalition of Latin American governments that after the proclamation of Juan Guido himself acting President of Venezuela joined the United States and recognized the speaker of the national Assembly (unicameral Parliament), the head of the Bolivarian Republic, United for a few weeks before the escalation of the crisis in Venezuela, reports UNN with reference to the material of the Associated Press.
The country acted through secret diplomacy, which included secret messages to the activists. In addition, in the framework of this campaign, Guido made several secret trips abroad. About this, citing unnamed participants in the talks
In mid-December, Guido, according to them, secretly went to Washington, Columbia and Brazil to brief local officials on the strategy of mass demonstrations of the opposition in Venezuela. Demonstrators, as indicated by the AP, was supposed to coincide with the expected inauguration of President Maduro on January 10. The Agency said former mayor of Caracas Antonio ledezma (Venezuela, he escaped after instituted against him; the production was about the death of people during protests in 2014).
To leave Venezuela, Guido, in the words of one unnamed “anti-government leader” slipped through “illegal” border with Colombia, according to AP. Most of it after the incident with Venezuelan soldiers in 2015 (they were injured during a fight with the alleged Colombian smugglers), according to the order of Maduro, remains closed. Only open border area in the Venezuelan state of Tachira.
This, according to the source, Guido was forced to resort in order not to arouse suspicion from immigration officers, who sometimes detain opposition leaders at the airport and not allow them to travel abroad.
In terms of the fragmentation of the opposition in Venezuela, which has been divided, including due to strict measures by the local government (all carefully watched by security services), communication involving the transmission of each other encrypted text messages has become the norm, continues the source AP. For delivery of such messages, according to an American official, who also knows about these negotiations, mediators were used. Talked thus, according to him, political mentor, and Guide Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez. The latter is under house arrest after he tried to organize a mass uprising against Maduro in 2014, says AP.
However, the decision to confront the Maduro directly became possible only thanks to the strong support of the administration of U.S. President Donald trump, said the Associated Press. “The turning point”, according to the Agency, was the statement of the American leader in August 2017. Then trump made a “military option” to solve the Venezuelan crisis. Since then, Latin American countries, as noted by the AP, “they realize they have a partner in USA who are ready to cope with ongoing for many years in a crisis”.
So, on January 4, the day before, Guido was sworn in as speaker natssobraniya, the foreign Ministers of 13 countries of the group of Lima, which does not include the United States, said they did not recognize the second term Maduro.
Nevertheless, the key “shadow” role in the escalation of the situation played a member of a group of Lima, Canada, says the source AP of the country. It is the canadian Minister of foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland, according to him, was Guido the night before the inauguration ceremony of the Maduro. The opposition she had offered his government’s support if he will face the leader of the socialists.
In addition, active steps, according to the interlocutor of the Agency, was taken in Peru, Brazil and Colombia. Last, as noted by the AP, bordered by Venezuela and since the beginning of the crisis in the country took out more than 2 million workers.
We remind that Lukashenka expressed support for Maduro.