| Ooooh — deceit and betrayal at the very top? How exciting! |
[ZH] Update(20:50ET): A mere hours after widespread American mainstream media reports named Maduro's staunchly 'loyal' Vice Presedent Delcy RodrÃguez a CIA/US military informer who cooperated with the Trump-ordered invasion which ousted and kidnapped the country's sitting head of state to US soil, there are reports of heavy gunfire engulfing the Venezuelan capital, near the presidential palace. Though there are conflicting reports.
CNN is confirming that something - though we don't know exactly what - is going down (somewhat to be expected after an apparent coup supported by US military invasion):
Gunfire heard near Venezuelan presidential palace: Gunfire was heard in the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Monday night, near the Miraflores presidential palace.
Videos geolocated by CNN show what appear to be lights from drones and anti-aircraft fire across the night sky.
| Those would be the tweets Snowy Thing posted in comments yesterday evening. |
It’s unclear what the situation is related to. CNN has reached out to Venezuela’s ministries of communication and foreign affairs for more information.
Celebratory gunfire? The counter-revolution begins? False trigger of anti-air defenses? Or the storming of the presidential palace...
There are competing reports that the mayhem was triggered by an inbound civilian or hobby drone mistaken for a threat. Polymarket reports, as everyone is no doubt on edge and trigger-happy...
Update(1820ET): Rumors naming the high level Venezuelan official who handed Maduro to the US military, and cooperated with the CIA, have been flying all day. A breaking report in The Wall Street Journal Monday evening names the name top on everyone's list, confirming the rumors or what was becoming increasingly obvious to close observers:
A recent classified U.S. intelligence assessment determined top members of Nicolás Maduro’s regime—including Vice President Delcy RodrÃguez—would be best positioned to lead a temporary government in Caracas and maintain near-term stability if the autocrat lost power, people familiar with the matter said.
The analysis by the Central Intelligence Agency was briefed to President Trump and shared with a small circle of senior administration officials, according to two of the people. It was a factor in Trump’s decision to back Maduro’s vice president instead of opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner MarÃa Corina Machado, some of the people said.
The assessment provides insight into Trump’s decision not to support the opposition’s bid for control of Venezuela following the brazen U.S. military operation to capture Maduro last week and bring him to the U.S. for trial. As in his first term, Trump was convinced that near-term stability in Venezuela could be maintained only if Maduro’s replacement had the support of the country’s armed forces and other elites.
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