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Thomas Shannon, a high-ranking official in the U.S. Department of State, reportedly told a meeting of leading members of the Venezuelan opposition coalition that his government would prefer for President Nicolas Maduro to finish his term rather than be ousted prematurely, journalist Jose Vicente Rangel reported Sunday on his television program.
The meeting between Shannon, now the U.S. under secretary of state for political affairs, and the right-wing opposition coalition, known as the MUD, took place shortly after parliamentary elections in December 2015 that saw the opposition win control of the National Assembly.
According to Rangel, ;Shannon allegedly told the right-wing lawmakers that the U.S. government preferred they not generate political turbulence and that ensuring Maduro is not prevented from finishing his term would be best for stability in the region.
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Leaders from the MUD have insisted that their priority is ousting Maduro from the presidency one way or another. Last week the opposition-controlled National Assembly requested the foreign intervention of the Organization of American States (OAS), alleging a breakdown in the country's democracy.
The MUD's call for the OAS to intervene comes as the result of a recent ruling by the country's Supreme Court that delineated the separation of powers and castigated the opposition-controlled National Assembly for attempting to overreach.
The president of the National Assembly, Henry Ramos Allup, reacted strongly to that ruling, stating that he would disregard it.
One legislator from the MUD, Freddy Guevara, strongly suggested that Venezuelans should launch an armed rebellion in light of the court's ruling.
“If the government and judges refuse to recognize the people, the people are obliged not to recognize them and apply article 350 of the Constitution. If (the government) blocks constitutional paths, they don’t have as many arms and soldiers as we, the people, do,” stated Guevara.
Politicians tied to the MUD staged violent demonstrations in early 2014 in an effort to oust Maduro from power. Those demonstrations, which included armed barricades in many of Venezuela's major streets, ultimately led to the deaths of 43 people, the majority being government supporters or state security officials.
Despite the report of Shannon's comments, the U.S. government of Barack Obama recently renewed an executive order issued last March that declared Venezuela “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”
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