On September 26, 2018, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro approaches the podium at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. Mr. Maduro, a large man with a mustache and a black suit and bright red tie, looked bilious.
Domestically, President Maduro’s political position was deteriorating. The former bus driver turned dictator ruled Venezuela for five years and recently “won” re-election in an election widely considered fraudulent. But he faced a stronger backlash than he expected. Anti-government protests have plagued the oil-rich South American country. Hyperinflation was destroying the economy. More than 1 million Venezuelans were displaced, sparking a hemispheric refugee crisis.
The Trump administration has been working furiously for some time to remove Maduro, an ally of Cuba and Russia, from power. In fact, then-President Donald Trump even publicly considered using “available military options, if necessary,” to deal with Venezuela. The day before President Maduro’s General Assembly speech, President Trump took to the same United Nations podium and called the situation in Venezuela a “tragedy of humanity” and denounced the “suffering, corruption, and corruption” brought on by the communist-socialist regime. The US president then announced new sanctions against members of President Maduro’s inner circle.
When President Maduro began his UN speech, he tried to hit back hard. He said his country was a “victim of perpetual aggression” by the “empire” United States. Venezuela’s bid for geopolitical independence, and its vast gold and oil reserves, had provoked the anger and greed of “the continent’s oligarchies and the forces that control from Washington,” he added.
President Maduro’s speech turned dark. He claimed that the recent attempt on his life, in which two drones exploded during a speech outside Caracas, was masterminded by shadowy figures in the United States. (Trump administration officials publicly denied any involvement in the drone attack, and dissident members of the Venezuelan military later claimed responsibility.) President Maduro has called a U.N. meeting in recent days over concerns about the assassination attempt. He even said he was considering absenting himself entirely. .
The Trump and Maduro governments, who have a hostile relationship, did not agree on anything. Except for the fact that the US government wanted Maduro gone.
After that U.N. meeting, the Trump administration ramped up efforts around the world to isolate and oust Venezuelan leaders, including imposing additional punitive sanctions against the Venezuelan regime. Much of its diplomatic maneuvering took place in public. But the administration also launched another, very secretive maneuver against the U.S. regime change campaign. It is a covert CIA-run effort to help overthrow Venezuelan strongmen.