NGO Wola opposes the use of force to resolve the political situation in Venezuela - MPPRE

NGO Wola opposes the use of force to resolve the political situation in Venezuela

When referring this Thursday to the attempted armed incursion into Venezuela and the involvement of the Donald Trump government; The Washington Office for Latin American Affairs (Wola) stressed that, along with partners from Venezuelan and regional civil society, “it has consistently opposed any proposal that relies on the use of force” to resolve the political situation in the country. “The United States and the international community must be clear in denying direct or indirect support for violent measures” to the Venezuelan situation, said Wola, an NGO created in 1974 to promote human rights, democracy and justice in the social and economic sphere in Latin America and the Caribbean. It pointed out that the US government must be clear with the Venezuelan political opposition, in emphasizing that “a negotiated agreement is the only way to advance, and commit to vigorous diplomacy with relevant international actors to win the NGO’s support for a negotiated solution”. The NGO said that in recent days, “reliable reports” have emerged that, at the end of 2019, representatives of the deputy Juan Guaidó met “with several private military contractors, who offered to carry out covert armed activities within the Venezuelan territory”. Wola insisted that by presenting the possibility of military intervention, and “by continuous and mistaken statements”, the US government “has promoted a theory of change that depends on creating an unlikely break between the armed forces and Maduro’s government” . It added that this position has deepened in recent weeks, “with the Trump administration offering a million-dollar reward for the capture of Maduro, and exaggerating the nature of anti-drug operations in the Caribbean as part of a lobbying strategy”.

Involvement of deputy Guaidó

In an interview with the multistate chain Telesur, President Nicolás Maduro accused on Thursday night the leader of the far-right party Voluntad Popular (VP), Juan Guaidó, of being a “criminal” who was able to sign a contract to eliminate a political adversary. Also the Sector Vice-president of Communication, Culture and Tourism, Jorge Rodríguez, stressed that last Wednesday night Juan José Rendón -better known as JJ Rendón- recognized before the CNN television network his participation in the plan of incursion into Venezuela in conjunction with the Venezuelan extremist opposition, led by Juan Guaidó. Rendón expressed that it is his signature the one that appears in said contract and also indicated that he had delivered the sum of $50,000 to Jordan Goudreau as an initial payment for the operation. Rodríguez stated that the contract between the owner of the Silvercorp company, Jordan Goudreau, Juan Guaidó, JJ Rendón and Sergio Vergara was signed in the month of October 2019. To date, a total of 23 terrorists involved in the failed mercenary raid operation have been captured on the coasts of La Guaira and Aragua states, on May 3 and 4, respectively.