[WASHINGTONEXAMINER] The commander of U.S. forces in Latin America told Congress Wednesday that the military is developing plans to be immediately ready for any contingency if Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó ousts dictator Nicolás Maduro from power.
Adm. Craig Faller, head of U.S. Southern Command, told the House Armed Services Committee he believes it is only a matter of time before Guaidó, president of the country's National Assembly, takes control. Guaidó encouraged Venezuelans to take to the streets starting Tuesday, saying that the final phase of "Operation Freedom" had begun.
"[T]here is going to be a day when the legitimate government takes over, and it's going to come when we least expect it," said Faller. "And it could be right now, so we are calling it 'day now' planning."
Faller told the committee that repairing Venezuela's dilapidated economic and energy infrastructure after years of corruption and mismanagement won't be a sample task. "[T]he magnitude of the misery is going to require every element of international unity that currently exists," he said.
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