"It is fraught with the gravest consequences": the confrontation between the United States and Russia in Venezuela is escalating

Unrest in Venezuela is becoming a rhetorical battle between the United States and Russia.

After a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the head of Russian diplomacy said that the continuation of “aggressive steps (US) is fraught with the most serious consequences,” writesVoice of America".

The State Department was more restrained, saying only that Russian and Cuban intervention was “destabilizing” for Venezuela.

However, National Security Advisor to the White House, John Bolton, said: “This is our hemisphere. This is not the place where Russia should interfere. This is a mistake on their part. This will not lead to a better relationship. ”

Photo: Facebook / The White House

Pompeo reiterated on Wednesday that the US is ready to use military force in Venezuela.

“If this is what is needed, this is what the US will do,” he said.

But Pompeo and President Donald Trump did not indicate that they could prompt the United States to intervene.

Meanwhile, a high-ranking Cuban diplomat denied the US accusations that thousands of Cuban troops are in Venezuela.

“Cuba does not participate in military operations or security operations in Venezuela,” Carlos Fernández de Cossio, the head of the US Department of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, told the Associated Press.

According to him, 20 of thousands of Cubans in Venezuela are mainly medical professionals.

At the same time, he noted that, as hemispheric partners, Cuba and Venezuela have sovereign rights to cooperate in the military and intelligence fields.

Cuba and Russia are longtime allies of Venezuela and its socialist government. Russia provides economic support and supplies military equipment to the Maduro government, while Venezuela sends billions of dollars worth of oil to Cuba in exchange for medical assistance.

Supporters of opposition leader Juan Guaydo, whom the United States and more than 50 of other countries recognized as the legitimate president of Venezuela, took to the streets again on Wednesday, throwing stones at the police, who responded with tear gas.

Guaydo said that a shift strike would begin in the country on Thursday, which would escalate into a general strike.

Photo: Twitter Juan Guaidó

“We will stay on the streets until we achieve freedom for the Venezuelan people. The regime will try to increase repression. He will try to persecute me, ”he told the demonstrators on Wednesday.

As head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, Guaydo took advantage of the constitution and declared the authority of President Nicolas Maduro illegitimate, saying that his election in December had been rigged.

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Millions of Venezuelans who are tired of galloping inflation, food and fuel shortages, inadequate medical care and periodic power outages leave the country.

Photos: Nicolás Maduro Facebook

Maduro accuses Guaydo of attempting a coup with the support of the United States and Colombia, and claims that the opposition will collapse.

He said that the demonstrators would be prosecuted "for serious crimes committed against the constitution, the rule of law and the right to peace."

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Neither Maduro nor Guaydo, however, can achieve success without the support of a powerful Venezuelan army. Although many members of the army base joined the opposition, Maduro still enjoys the support of generals and other members of the military elite.