The US continues to try to impose a long-sought regime change in Venezuela, a lot of the pieces have already fallen into place, to the point that the US is already backing a “new” government there, and demanding that the world do the same.
Actually getting that government in power, however, has one big stumbling block, and that is the Venezuelan military, which remains overwhelmingly loyal to the actual government and the sitting president. Pentagon officials say they are working on that.
Pentagon officials now say that they are having direct talks with the leadership of the Venezuelan military, and trying to convince senior officers to defect, either backing the US-backed Guaido or at least getting out of the way.
There have been almost no defections so far, but the Pentagon remains optimistic, saying they think once they get the “first couple pebbles” then they’ll really start seeing a bigger stream of defections following.
President Maduro’s continued rule seems to rest heavily on military support, but despite the US confidence there is no sign that the military’s position is about to shift decisively against him.