Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. File photo.
In his book titled Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love, originally published in November 2022, Mike Pompeo, Donald Trump’s former secretary of state, writes about various issues and experiences during his tenure as the top diplomatic representative of the Trump administration.
He also included commentary on the US strategy of maximum pressure against Venezuela, some of which are presented below, confirming the sometimes high-intensity war against Venezuela and the government of President Nicolás Maduro to execute “regime change.” The following excerpts are from chapter 15, titled Know Your Limits (bold added for emphasis):
Our campaigns against North Korea, Iran, and Venezuela all centered on military deterrence and economic and diplomatic pressure.
…
We recovered the essence of the Monroe Doctrine under President Trump with respect to Venezuela, a former democratic ally of the United States.
…
In the Trump administration, we couldn’t tolerate a nation just 1,400 miles from Florida putting out the welcome mat for Russia, China, Iran, Cuba and the cartels in a twenty-first-century violation of the Monroe Doctrine. We concluded that if left unaddressed, the Venezuela problem would fester, with terrible security consequences for the American people and our hemisphere. In spring 2018, with new elections in Venezuela about to occur, we believed we had an opportunity to help the Venezuelan people take back their country from a dictator. By supporting the opposition and putting economic pressure on Maduro, we hoped to right the Venezuelan ship and force his exit. We hoped to make life so miserable for the regime that Maduro and his thugs would have to make a deal with the opposition. If Maduro wanted to live in a Swiss chateau for the rest of his life, we were willing to let him, as long as Venezuela could get back on a normal trajectory. At various points, President Trump, John Bolton, and I suggested the military option for Venezuela. None of us wanted to publicly take an important means of pressure off the table publicly.
Substitute “putting economic pressure on Maduro” with “economically suffocating Venezuela and its entire population,” and you would have a more accurate account of the US strategy against Venezuela.
President Maduro: Trump’s Strategy to Defeat Us Failed (+Teacher’s Strike)
In the book, Pompeo also confirms that former US President Donald Trump’s threats of a military invasion of Venezuela were not a mere bluff but a real possibility, agreed upon by senior White House officials.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/KZ
Misión Verdad
Misión Verdad is a Venezuelan investigative journalism website with a socialist perspective in defense of the Bolivarian Revolution
