President Nicolás Maduro gestures as he arrives for a gathering with supporters outside Miraflores Palace on April 6 in Caracas, Venezuela. | Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images foreign policy Trump team jumps to support Venezuela uprising Supporting the overthrow attempt is a risky proposition for the Trump administration, but if it works Trump can claim a political and even moral victory.

President Donald Trump and his top aides on Tuesday swiftly endorsed an attempted government takeover in Venezuela, where opposition leaders backed by a band of rebellious soldiers are trying to oust strongman Nicolás Maduro.

The day's events were extraordinary by many measures; the U.S. even asserted that Maduro had a plane ready to fly him to Havana, but that Russia had persuaded him to stay.


Supporting the uprising is a risky proposition for Trump, who also used the occasion to threaten Cuba over its support of Maduro. The Venezuelan dictator retains the loyalty of many of his military generals, and he may survive the power struggle despite claims by Trump aides that some high-level Venezuelan officials conspired with the opposition to turn against their leader. Many Latin Americans also resent America’s history of backing coups throughout the region. And Russia is helping prop up Maduro, adding to the situation's complexity.

But should Maduro fall, Trump can claim a political and even moral victory as the 2020 elections loom, saying that months of pressure from his administration — pressure that earned support from many Democrats — helped liberate starving Venezuelans from an autocrat who destroyed their oil-blessed country’s economy. Trump has been insisting that Maduro step aside since late January, when he recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the country’s legitimate leader.

Toppling Maduro would be a particularly salient political talking point for Trump because the president is trying to paint Democrats eyeing the White House as socialists who want to mimic Maduro’s style of governance. While Trump has spoken fondly of many other strongman leaders worldwide, including Russia's Vladimir Putin, he has long harbored a particular dislike of Maduro.

"I am monitoring the situation in Venezuela very closely. The United States stands with the People of Venezuela and their Freedom!" Trump tweeted Tuesday afternoon.

The president later wrote: "If Cuban Troops and Militia do not immediately CEASE military and other operations for the purpose of causing death and destruction to the Constitution of Venezuela, a full and complete embargo, together with highest-level sanctions, will be placed on the island of Cuba. Hopefully, all Cuban soldiers will promptly and peacefully return to their island!"

Cuba already is under a U.S. trade embargo. But Trump appeared to be suggesting he would make it even tougher.

Guaidó is leading the uprising in Venezuela, dubbed Operación Libertad. Media organizations reported that soldiers and others allied with the opposition clashed violently with pro-Maduro forces on Tuesday, with tear gas and gunfire marking the moments. Some video footage showed Maduro's armored vehicles trampling protesters.

As Guaidó and a group of activists and soldiers called on Venezuelans to take to the streets and more soldiers to defect, several Trump aides voiced their backing.

“Estamos con ustedes!” Vice President Mike Pence wrote on Twitter. “We are with you! America will stand with you until freedom & democracy are restored. Vayan con dios! #FreeVenezuela.”

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CNN that Maduro "had an airplane on the tarmac, he was ready to leave this morning as we understand it, and the Russians indicated he should stay."

"He was headed for Havana," Pompeo added. The secretary also warned Maduro not to arrest Guaido, but declined to say if the U.S. had any red lines when it came to Venezuela.

National security adviser John Bolton, meanwhile, used both Twitter and a news conference to urge top Venezuelan officials to turn on Maduro, even as he insisted that Trump wants to see a peaceful transfer of power.

Bolton specifically aimed messages at Venezuela's defense minister, the chief judge of its supreme court and the commander of the country's presidential guard. Bolton said the three figures “have been talking to the opposition over these last three months" and must “make good on their commitments to achieve the peaceful transfer of power from the Maduro to interim president Juan Guaido."

"Your time is up. This is your last chance," Bolton warned the three on Twitter. "Accept Interim President Guaido’s amnesty, protect the Constitution, and remove Maduro, and we will take you off our sanctions list. Stay with Maduro, and go down with the ship."

But Elliott Abrams, the administration's special envoy for Venezuela, sounded a pessimistic note that the three Venezuelans would follow through on their supposed commitments.

"They negotiated for a long time the means of restoring democracy but it seems that today they are not going forward," Abrams said.

Venezuelans have made clear that the current path toward democracy is irreversible. Venezuela’s military has a choice: embrace democracy, protect civilians and members of the democratically-elected National Assembly, or face more man-made suffering and isolation. — John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) April 30, 2019

The need to oust Maduro is a foreign policy issue that has united many Democrats and Republicans behind Trump, though some Democrats on the far left have opposed the notion of the U.S. backing any coups.

Bolton on Tuesday even retweeted words of support from Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, who praised Guaidó for “putting his life on the line.” “The Russians & Cubans who are in Caracas to save Maduro must step back & let Venezuelans decide their own future,” Durbin further warned.

After Bolton posted a video on Twitter, telling Venezuelans that it was a “critical point for your history,” Cuba’s foreign minister, Bruno Rodríguez, tweeted a scathing rebuke.

“US Nat Sec Advisor Bolton is pathological liar who misinforms Trump,” Rodríguez wrote. “There are no Cuban troops in #Venezuela; nor are there any Cubans taking part in military or security operations there. Only medical staff in humanitarian mission. I strongly reject Trump’s total blockade threat.”

Bolton decried the use of the term coup to describe the developments. The Trump administration insists Maduro's recent re-election was fraudulent, and it has pointed to a mechanism in Venezuela’s Constitution that allows a shift diplomatic recognition, thus downplaying the idea that the U.S. is backing a coup.

"This is clearly not a coup," Bolton insisted to reporters. "We recognize Juan Guaido as the legitimate interim president of Venezuela. And just as it is not a coup when the president of the United States gives an order to the Department of Defense, it is not a coup for Juan Guaidó to try to take command of the Venezuelan military."

Regardless of terminology, it is unclear whether the uprising will succeed in toppling Maduro. He appears to retain significant support from Venezuelan military leaders, not to mention from military advisers sent by Cuba and Russia.

There was, however, evidence of some cracks in the loyalty to Maduro.

Prominent Venezuelan opposition activist Leopoldo Lopez joined Guaidó on Tuesday to say that Venezuelan security forces had freed him from house arrest based on an order from Guaidó — overriding Maduro’s requests.

Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaidó gestures next to soldiers outside La Carlota air base in Caracas, Venezuela on Tuesday. | Boris Vergara/AP Photo

“I want to tell the Venezuelan people: This is the moment to take to the streets and accompany these patriotic soldiers,” Lopez said, according to media reports. “Everyone should come to the streets in peace.”

Asked if the U.S. had been warned of Guaidó’s plans to push for an uprising or what other role, if any, it had played, Bolton said, "We feel very well informed about what is going on." He also noted that the U.S. has offered humanitarian assistance to the country.

"We're doing a lot of other things, some of which I'm not going to talk about," Bolton said.

While the Trump administration insists all options are on the table when it comes to backing Guaidó — a position Bolton repeated on Tuesday — several top aides have made it clear that the U.S. is highly unlikely to send troops to Venezuela. Russia’s willingness to send dozens of military advisers also raises the risks involved with U.S. military engagement, as does the presence of Cuban forces.

Still, at least one Republican lawmaker called on U.S. troops to be positioned along Venezuelan borders to help bolster the opposition.

“President Trump should immediately position American military assets to be ready to deliver aid to the people and defend freedom and democracy as well as U.S. national security interests in our hemisphere,” Florida Sen. Rick Scott said.

While there was no immediate sign the Pentagon was planning any moves in the region, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan tweeted his support for Venezuelan opposition efforts to "take back their country."

The Trump administration has been leaning on Maduro to step aside since late January, when Trump announced that the U.S. no longer recognized Maduro as Venezuela’s leader. Instead, Trump recognized Guaidó, the head of the country’s National Assembly and an opposition activist, as the country’s interim president.

Since then, the U.S. has levied a series of punishing economic penalties on Venezuela in an effort to cut off funding for the Maduro regime.

Dozens of other countries, including in Latin America and Europe, followed Trump’s lead and recognized Guaidó, though they have not gone as far in imposing sanctions.

But Maduro has clung to power in part because he retains military backing — support that Maduro’s detractors say is a result of the systemic corruption in his government. The collapse of Venezuela's economy has led to shortages of food, medicine and other goods. Millions of Venezuelans already have fled to neighboring countries.

Bolton cast the latest developments as "delicate," "serious" and "a potentially dispositive moment."

But when asked about what happens if Guaidó does not quickly triumph over Maduro, Bolton acknowledged "it is possible this situation could persist."

Anita Kumar and Caitlin Oprysko contributed to this report.