Reuters: Venezuela's power ministers a possible US target
President Donald Trump's administration has warned Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello that he could become one of the top US targets if he does not cooperate with interim President Delcy Rodríguez and help meet US demands after the ouster of Nicolás Maduro.
According to three Reuters sources familiar with the situation, Washington is temporarily counting on some of Maduro's allies to maintain stability during the transition period.
U.S. officials fear that Cabello could disrupt the process and are therefore trying to get him to cooperate, although they are also looking for ways to remove him from power later. Through intermediaries, they have told him that if he resists, he could end up like Maduro, who has been detained by the US and accused of narcoterrorism.
Also on the list of possible targets is Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino, whose cooperation the US says is key to controlling the military and preventing a power vacuum. Washington does not yet consider the opposition capable of keeping the peace in the country and wants to avoid deploying its own troops.
The US is pressing Venezuelan leaders to open the oil sector to US firms, curb drug trafficking, cut off cooperation with Iran and expel Cuban security advisers. The aim is to make progress within weeks, although the strategy for the post-Maduro period remains unclear.
(reuters, est)