US Moving Troops for Military Invasion of Venezuela, Moscow Warns

Washington is already in the advanced stages of preparing a military invasion of Venezuela and has transferred its special forces to Puerto Rico and is sending troops to Colombia, according to Russia.

The accusation, leveled by Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, was made on Tuesday amid signs that U.S.-led attempts to affect a coup to topple legitimate President Nicolas Maduro are stalling, with few signs of the mass defections and mutinies within the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela that Washington had hoped to see.

The transfer of military forces to the U.S. colonial territory of Puerto Rico and allied Colombia indicates the strong likelihood of a full-scale armed intervention against the South American country, said Patrushev.

The top Russian official said:

“By showing sarcasm and arrogance towards the Venezuelan people, the United States is preparing a military invasion on an independent state. The transfer of American special forces to Puerto Rico, the landing of US forces in Colombia and other facts clearly indicate that the Pentagon is reinforcing the grouping of troops in the region in order to overthrow the lawfully elected incumbent president (Nicolas) Maduro.”

Petrushev also accused the United States of displaying “sarcasm and arrogance towards the Venezuelan people,” according to Sputnik News, noting that the obvious foreign policy goals of Washington – the toppling of the elected president and recognition of self-declared “interim president” Juan Gauido – explain why the Bolivarian republic has refused to accept any so-called humanitarian aid from “the aggressor country.”

Patrushev explained:

“The Venezuelan people understand this well. Hence, such a reaction, the refusal to accept cargo from the aggressor country and the support of their president.”

Moscow isn’t the first to accuse the United States of preparing a military intervention against its ally. On February 14, the Cuban Foreign Ministry also accused the U.S. of transferring military forces toward the Caribbean in preparation of clandestine operations against regional governments. Havana has stressed that the U.S. is executing a carefully laid-out coup plot in the country and is pressuring regional governments to back the anti-Chavista campaign to force new presidential elections in the country.

The controversial U.S. special envoy for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, has denied that Washington is planning to take imminent action against Venezuela. When asked whether Moscow’s allegations are true, Abrams responded:

“No … The president has said all options are on the table. Presidents always say that and rightly so. But it ill behooves the Russians to talk about military intervention after they have dismembered both Georgia and Ukraine.”

Democratic Party chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Eliot Engel, has dismissed any possibility of a war on Venezuela. On February 13, Engel said:

“I do worry about the president’s saber rattling, his hints that U.S. military intervention remains an option. I want to make clear to our witnesses and to anyone else watching: U.S. military intervention is not an option.”

Patrushev noted that while the U.S. has proposed to hold separate talks with Russia on Venezuela, and Moscow agreed, Washington resorted to various far-fetched pretexts to avoid holding consultations with their Russian counterparts.