The US State Department is calling on Venezuela’s National Assembly to impose regime change following the election of President Nicolas Maduro to a second term in power. US officials say that Maduro is “illegitimate.”



To that end, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has promised that the US will restore “real democracy” to Venezuela, which is to say removing the president from power. Venezuela’s General Assembly president has suggested he could invoke the constitution to name himself as interim president.



That seems to suit the State Department just fine. Vice president Mike Pence had said the US won’t recognize the most recent Venezuelan election, and says democracy will prevail in the country, which again means replacing Maduro.



During recent South America visits, Mike Pompeo has been courting other nations to support regime change in Venezuela. Both Brazil and Colombia appear to be on board with the US demands.

Author: Jason Ditz Jason Ditz is news editor of Antiwar.com. View all posts by Jason Ditz