The Room Where It Happened

by John Bolton;

  6 Indeed, confusion within Maduro’s regime, see ibid., was one indication that outside forces might have been at work. The Cuban presence in Venezuela, and particularly the key role they play in keeping the Maduro regime in place, is amply documented. Predictably, Cuba denies everything. See, e.g., Ethan Bronner, Alex Vasquez, and David Wainer, “How Has Maduro Survived? With Lots of Help from Cuban Operatives,” April 1, 2019, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-01/how-has-maduro-survived-with-lots-of-help-from-cuban-operatives; Jorge C. Carrasco, “Venezuelan Democracy Was Strangled by Cuba,” May 14, 2019, https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/05/14/venezuelan-democracy-was-strangled-by-cuba/; “https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/author/josemiguel/” Jose Miguel Alonso-Trabanco, “Cuba’s intelligence Masterstroke in Venezuela,” August 9, 2018, https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/cubas-intelligence-masterstroke-in-venezuela/; and Adam Taylor, “How many Cuban troops are there in Venezuela? The U.S. says over 20,000. Cuba says zero.” May 2, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/05/02/how-many-cuban-troops-are-there-venezuela-us-says-over-cuba-says-zero/.

  7 See Jennifer Hansler, Flora Charner and Zachary Cohen, “US orders non-emergency personnel out of Venezuela,” January 25, 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/24/politics/pompeo-bolton-venezuela-maduro/index.html.

  8 See Associated Press, “The Latest: Venezuela opposition leader backs US sanctions,” January 29, 2019, https://apnews.com/aea46490266049c6a20a6aba29efc2ca.

  9 See Nick Paton Walsh, Natalie Gallón, and Diana Castrillon, “Corruption in Venezuela has created a cocaine superhighway to the US,” April 17, 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/17/americas/venezuela-drug-cocaine-trafficking-intl/index.html.

  10 See “Remarks by President Trump and President Duqué of Colombia Before Bilateral Meeting,” September 25, 2018, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-president-duque-republic-colombia-bilateral-meetings/.

  11 This was exactly what we were saying publicly throughout the crisis, at Trump’s behest. See, e.g., John Allen, “Bolton: All options are on the table for Trump in Venezuela,” January 28, 2019, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/bolton-all-options-are-table-trump-venezuela-n963681; and Ellen Mitchell, “Bolton says ‘all options are on the table’ in Venezuela as protests intensify,” April 30, 2019, https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/441426-bolton-says-all-options-are-on-the-table-in-venezuela-as-protests

  12 See Mary Beth Sheridan, “Maduro’s muscle: Politically backed motorcycle gangs known as ‘colectivos’ are the enforcers for Venezuela’s authoritarian leader,” March 14, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/maduros-muscle-politically-backed-motorcycle-gangs-known-as-colectivos-are-the-enforcers-for-venezuelas-authoritarian-leader/2019/03/13/2242068c-4452-11e9-94ab-d2dda3c0df52_story.html.

  13 Reuters reported that “Private military contractors who do secret missions for Russia flew into Venezuela in the past few days to beef up security for President Nicolas Maduro in the face of US-backed opposition protests, according to two people close to them.” See Maria Tsvetkova and Anton Zverev, Reuters, “Exclusive: Kremlin-linked contractors help guard Venezuela’s Maduro—Sources,” January 25, 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-russia-exclusive/exclusive-kremlin-linked-contractors-help-guard-venezuelas-maduro-sources-idUSKCN1PJ22M.

  14 See Jessica Donati, Ian Talley and Andrew Scurria, “Venezuela’s Opposition Leader Guaidó to Name New Citgo Board, Rubio Says,” February 6, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuelas-opposition-leader-guaido-to-name-new-citgo-board-sen-rubio-says-11549501327.

  15 See Keith Johnson, “Kerry Makes It Official: ‘Era of Monroe Doctrine Is Over,’ ” November 18, 2013, https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/11/18/kerry-makes-it-official-era-of-monroe-doctrine-is-over/.

  16 See “Statement from President Donald J. Trump Recognizing Venezuelan National Assembly President Juan Gaidó as the Interim President of Vene-zuela,” January 23, 2019, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-president-donald-j-trump-recognizing-venezuelan-national-assembly-president-juan-guaido-interim-president-venezuela/.

  17 See Deutsche Welle, “Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó declares himself acting president,” January 23, 2019, https://www.dw.com/en/venezuelan-opposition-leader-juan-guaido-declares-himself-acting-president/a-47201512.

  18 See BBC News, April 1, 2019, “Venezuela crisis: Opposition’s Guaidó awaits army support,” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47769121.

  19 See, e.g., Patricia Laya, Ethan Bronner, and Tim Ross, January 25, 2019, “Maduro Stymied in Bid to Pull $1.2 Billion of Gold From U.K.,” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-25/u-k-said-to-deny-maduro-s-bid-to-pull-1-2-billion-of-gold.

  20 See Hollie McKay, “As Venezuela crisis deepens, US embassy faces security challenges,” January 26, 2019, https://www.foxnews.com/world/venezuela-political-aggression-puts-us-diplomats-at-risk.

  21 See, e.g., Reuters, “Venezuela’s Guaidó considering request for funds from IMF: sources,” January 25, 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-guaido/venezuelas-guaido-considering-request-for-funds-from-imf-sources-idUSKCN1PJ21Q, and Lesley Wroughton. Reuters, “Latam lender replaces Venezuela’s Maduro representative with Guaidó economist,” March 15, 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics/iadb-ousts-venezuelas-maduro-representative-replaces-with-guaido-economist-idUSKCN1QW29J.

  22 See Kirk Semple, “With Spies and Other Operatives, a Nation Looms Over Venezuela’s Crisis: Cuba,” January 26, 2019, Editorial Board of the Wall Street Journal, “Cuba out of Venezuela,” January 24, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/cuba-out-of-venezuela-11548376414.

  23 See Daniel Chang, “ ‘End this nightmare,’ Pompeo urges U.N. member nations on Venezuela’s political crisis,” https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article225107520.html.

  24 See Adry Torres, “Venezuelan President Maduro’s right-hand man evacuates his two youngest children to China under fake names,” February 25, 2019, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6743013/Venezuelas-second-command-flies-two-children-China-using-wifes-surname.html.

  25 A subsequent press statement from Sanders and Trump tweets essentially repeated the highlights of this call. See, Rebecca Morin, “Trump congratulates Venezuelan opposition leader in call,” January 30, 2019, https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/30/trump-juan-guaido-call-1136918.

  26 See Reuters, “Trading arm of Russia’s Lukoil stops swap operations in Venezuela,” February 14, 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-russia-lukoil/trading-arm-of-russias-lukoil-stops-swap-operations-in-venezuela-idUSKCN1Q3225.

  27 See “PetroChina Drops Venezuela’s State oil Company,” February 1, 2019, https://financialtribune.com/articles/energy/96482/petrochina-drops-venezuela-s-state-oil-company.

  28 See Tatiana Voronova, “Russia’s Gazprombank freezes accounts of Venezuela’s PDVSA: Source,” February 17, 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-gazprombank/russias-gazprombank-freezes-accounts-of-venezuelas-pdvsa-source-idUSKCN1Q60BK.

  29 See Christine Armario and Fabiola Sanchez, “Venezuela opposition leader to police: Leave my family alone,” January 31, 2019, https://apnews.com/c6916be2bce147e486e8e7915272077c.

  30 See Dylan Baddour and Anthony Faiola, “As U.S. amasses aid on Venezuelan border, Colombian town braces for showdown,” February 17, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/as-us-amasses-aid-on-venezuelan-border-colombian-city-braces-for-showdown/2019/02/17/7bcf57b0-3140-11e9-8781-763619f12cb4_story.html.

  31 See “ ‘John Bolton tried to assassinate me’: Interview with Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro,” https://thegrayzone.com/2019/08/06/interview-venezuelan-president-nicolas-maduro/.

  32 See Roberta Rampton, “Move Over Ayatollahs: Bolton Turns Tweets and Talons on Maduro,” February 27, 2019, https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2019-02-27/mov
e-over-ayatollahs-bolton-turns-tweets-and-talons-on-maduro.

  33 See Alex Daugherty, “Rubio says sanctioned Maduro loyalists can receive amnesty, but only if they act soon,” February 11, 2019, https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article226085225.html.

  34 Press reporting from these remote border areas was scanty, but clearly showed clashes with regime authorities. See Antonio Maria Delgado, “Two dead, fourteen injured after Venezuela soldiers fire at civilians near border with Brazil,” February 22, 2019, https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article226624859.html.

  35 See, e.g., AFP, “Guaidó arrives at border concert, dealing blow to Maduro,” February 23, 2019, https://www.france24.com/en/20190223-venezuela-guaido-border-concert-humanitarian-aid-maduro.

  36 See, e.g., Beatrice Christofaro, “567 Venezuelan soldiers defected to Colombia, and it could be a sign that Maduro’s once rock-solid power base is starting to crumble,” March 2, 2019, https://www.businessinsider.com/venezuela-soldiers-defect-to-colombia-threaten-maduro-power-2019-3.

  37 See Maria Ramirez, “Soldiers held hostage, villagers killed: the untold story of Venezuelan aid violence,” May 21, 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-pemon-insight/soldiers-held-hostage-villagers-killed-the-untold-story-of-venezuelan-aid-violence-idUSKCN1SR1L0.

  38 See note 36 above.

  39 See Jeff Mason, Reuters, “U.S. considers sanctions to restrict Visa, Mastercard in Venezuela: official,” March 14. 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-venezuela-sanctions/u-s-considers-sanctions-to-restrict-visa-mastercard-in-venezuela-official-idUSKCN1QV2VS.

  40 See Reuters, “More than 40 dead, 850 detained in Venezuela violence, U.N. says,” January 29, 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-un/more-than-40-dead-850-detained-in-venezuela-violence-u-n-says-idUSKCN1PN16Y.

  41 See Larry Neumeister, Associated Press, “Ex-Venezuelan vice president accused of aiding drug dealers,” March 8, 2019, https://apnews.com/ff89bf5c8f5445fab11e6fdf6d91640f.

  42 See note 19, above.

  43 See, e.g., Ryan C. Berg, “Russia Is Gearing Up for a Conflict with the United States in the Caribbean,” October 9, 2019, https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/09/russias-putin-venezuela-evade-oil-sanctions-preparing-conflict-united-states/; and Joshua Goodman, Associated Press, “Oil tankers ‘go dark’ off Venezuela to evade US sanctions,” November 14, 2019, https://apnews.com/84cabe36652c4194ae2db852e8bab2c4.

  44 See Reuters, “Trump threatens ‘full’ embargo on Cuba over Venezuela security support,” April 30, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-trump-tweet/trump-threatens-full-embargo-on-cuba-over-venezuela-security-support-idUSKCN1S62PD

  45 See Nicholas Casey, “ ‘It Is Unspeakable’: How Maduro Used Cuban Doctors to Coerce Venezuela Voters,” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/17/world/americas/venezuela-cuban-doctors.html?auth=login-email&login=email.

  46 See “US-sanctioned Venezuelan defects to Colombia, Slams Maduro,” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-general/u-s-sanctioned-venezuelan-defects-to-colombia-slams-maduro-idUSKCN1QZ1YB.

  47 See David Luhnow, “Maduro Loses Grip on Venezuela’s Poor, a Vital Source of His power,” https://www.wsj.com/articles/maduro-loses-grip-on-venezuelas-poor-a-vital-source-of-his-power-11553014207.

  48 See Nathan Hodge and Anna-Maja Rappard, CNN, “Russia confirms its military personnel are in Venezuela,” March 29, 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/28/europe/russia-venezuela-military-personnel-intl/index.html

  49 See “Remarks by President Trump and First Lady Fabiana Rosales of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela before Bilateral Meeting,” March 27, 2019, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-first-lady-fabiana-rosales-bolivarian-republic-venezuela-bilateral-meeting/.

  50 These remarks were very similar to what she had said in the presence of the press. Ibid.

  51 See “Venezuelan minister tells US’ Bolton ‘right thing’ is respecting the people’s will,” March 30, 2019, https://www.dailysabah.com/americas/2019/03/30/venezuelan-minister-tells-us-bolton-right-thing-is-respecting-the-peoples-will.

  52 As documented in previous footnotes, many details of what happened in Venezuela in March and April in particular, described in the following pages, have found their way into the public record. We learned them in real time from the opposition, although as in any domestic conflict like this, there are often disagreements on many issues. In addition to what has already been cited above, see, e.g., Nicole Gaouellette, “Bolton says senior Venezuelan officials committed to backing Guaidó,” April 30, 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/30/politics/venezuela-us-clashes-bolton/index.html. The C-SPAN tape of my April 30 interview is found at https://www.c-span.org/video/?460292-1/national-security-adviser-bolton-calls-peaceful-transfer-power-venezuela. See also the interview with Elliott Abrams in “US: Venezuelan officials who were negotiating Maduro exit have gone dark,” May 1, 2019,” “https://www.efe.com/efe/english/world/us-venezuelan-officials-who-were-negotiating-maduro-exit-have-gone-dark/50000262-3965957” https://www.efe.com/efe/english/world/us-venezuelan-officials-who-were-negotiating-maduro-exit-have-gone-dark/50000262-3965957#; and Uri Freedman, “How an Elaborate Plan to Topple Venezuela’s President Went Wrong,” May 1, 2019, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/05/white-house-venezuela-maduro-failed/588454/.

  53 See John Otis, NPR, “Venezuelan Officers Who Fled to Colombia Are ‘Adrift’ As Maduro Holds On to Power,” July 22, 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/07/16/742275893/venezuelan-officers-who-fled-to-colombia-are-adrift-as-maduro-holds-onto-power.

  54 See MacKenzie Sigalos, “China and Russia loaned billions to Venezuela— and then the presidency went up for grabs,” February 7, 2019, https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/07/venezuela-china-and-russia-owed-debts-as-presidential-fight-rages.html.

  55 After his defection, Cristopher Figuera became a major public source of information about the Maduro regime, and specifically about the Cuban presence. See, e.g., Anthony Faiolo, “Maduro’s ex-spy chief lands in U.S. armed with allegations against Venezuelan government,” June 24, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/maduros-ex-spy-chief-lands-in-us-armed-with-allegations-against-venezuelan-government/2019/06/24/b20ad508-9477-11e9-956a-88c291ab5c38_story.html. Excerpts from the Washington Post interview with Cristopher Figuera are found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__Pk9WS06-g. See also Martin Arostegui, “Exiled Venezuelan Spy Chief Speaks Out About Corruption, Cuban Ties,” https://voanews.com/americas/exiled-venezuelan-spy-chiefs-speak-out-about-corruption-cuban-ties.

  56 See Abrams interview, notes 1 and 52 above, and Freedman, note 52 above.

  57 Ibid.

  58 Cristopher Figuera described the dialogue: “On April 29, Figuera said, he learned that Maduro’s feared colectivos were preparing a large-scale assault on a May Day protest that could result in a ‘bloodbath.’ He told Padrino of the new timetable himself. ‘Are you crazy?’ Padrino responded, in Figuera’s telling. ‘What about the [TSJ] ruling? How are you going to do it?’ ‘It’s happening,’ Figuera said he responded. ‘If not, May 1 will be bloody.… We have to move fast.’ Figuera and other plotters said they received confirmation that Moreno was prepared to issue his ruling on April 30. But after hearing Padrino’s skepticism, Figuera said, he began calling other military figures.” See Faiola, note 55 above.

  59 See Associated Press, “Venezuela’s Maduro Calls for Military Unity After Clashes,” May 2, 2019, https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2019-05-01/venezuela-awaits-more-protests-after-a-day-of-turmoil.

  60 See note 44 above.

  61 Juan Forero, José de Córdoba and Kejal Vyas, “Venezuela’s Opposition Came Close to Ousting the President—but the Plan Fell Apart,” May 3, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-plan-to-oust-venezuelan-leader-fell-apart-115569266837?mod+searchresults&page=3&pos+8.

  62 See, e.g., Antonella Davalos, “Why Is Cuba Propping Up t
he Maduro Regime? A Look at the History of this Special Relationship,” February 23, 2019, https://www.democracyspeaks.org/blog/why-cuba-propping-maduro-regime-look-history-special-relationship.

  63 On the afternoon of April 30, I tweeted, “@vladimirpadrino, @ivanr_HD, @MaikelMorenoTSJ: You know well the role you played in planning today’s move for democracy in Venezuela. You must now stand and do what is right for Venezuela. We, and the world, will hold you accountable for those Venezuelans who are injured today.” And the next day, in a lengthy radio interview with Hugh Hewitt, I elaborated on the complex dealings between key regime figures and the opposition before the uprising. See transcript, https://www.hughhewitt.com/ambassador-john-bolton-on-uprising-in-venezuela.

  CHAPTER 10: THUNDER OUT OF CHINA

  1 See, e.g., “Whither China: From Membership to Responsibility?” Speech by Robert B. Zoellick, Deputy Secretary of State, found at https://2001-2009.state.gov/s/d/former/zoellick/rem/53682.htm.

  2 See Remarks by Assistant Secretary Christopher A. Ford, “Huawei and Its Siblings, the Chinese Tech Giants: National Security and Foreign Policy Implications,” September 11, 2019, https://www.state.gov/huawei-and-its-siblings-the-chinese-tech-giants-national-security-and-foreign-policy-implications/.

  3 See, e.g., Kate O’Keefe et al., “China Taps Its Private Sector to Boost Its Military, Raising Alarms,” https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-taps-its-private-sector-to-boost-its-military-raising-alarms-11569403806.

  4 See, e.g., Rachel Botsman, “Big data meets Big Brother as China moves to rate its citizens,” https://www.wired.co.uk/article/chinese-government-social-credit-score-privacy-invasion.

  5 And see “National Security Strategy of the United States of America,” December 2017, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/NSS-Final-12-18-2017-0905.pdf.