The military is pivotal to President Nicolás Maduro’s attempts at retaining power

The United States is holding direct communications with members of Venezuela’s military, urging them to abandon President Nicolás Maduro and is also preparing new sanctions aimed at increasing pressure on him, a senior White House official said.

The Donald Trump administration expects further military defections from Mr. Maduro’s side, the official said, despite only a few senior officers having done so since Opposition leader Juan Guaidó declared himself interim President last month, earning the recognition of the United States and dozens of other countries.

‘First few pebbles’

“We believe these to be those first couple pebbles before we start really seeing bigger rocks rolling down the hill,” the official said this week. ”We’re still having conversations with members of the former Maduro regime, with military members, although those conversations are very, very limited.” The official declined to provide details on the discussions or the level at which they are being held, and it was unclear whether such contacts could create cracks in the Venezuelan socialist leader’s support from the military, which is pivotal to his grip on power.

With the Venezuelan military still apparently loyal to Mr. Maduro, a source in Washington close to the Opposition expressed doubts whether the Trump administration has laid enough groundwork to spur a wider mutiny in the ranks.

Members of the country’s security forces fear they or their families could be targeted by Mr. Maduro if they defect, so the U.S. would need to offer them something that could outweigh those concerns, said Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas think tank in Washington. The U.S. government also sees European allies as likely to do more to prevent Mr. Maduro from transferring or hiding Venezuela government assets held outside the country, the U.S. official said.

More sanctions

Major European countries have joined the U.S. in backing Mr. Guaidó but they have stopped short of the sweeping oil sanctions and financial measures that Washington has imposed. At the same time, the Trump administration is readying further possible sanctions on Venezuela, the official said.

Gen. Francisco Yanez of the Air Force’s high command became the first active General to recognise Mr. Guaidó, but he is one of about 2,000 Generals. Venezuela’s chief military attache to the U.S. also said he was defecting late last month.