A plan to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was presented to US President Donald Trump during his first term, but did not succeed as members of the administration failed to keep the president “focused” on the issue, his former national security adviser told CNN.
John Bolton, who advised Trump between 2018 and 2019, during his first term.
He and his team managed to interest Trump in the idea of removing Maduro, but “they couldn’t keep him focused on it,” Bolton recalled.
He also said that the opposition in Venezuela at the time believed that economic pressure would be enough to overthrow the Maduro regime.
Secretary of State and acting National Security Advisor Marco Rubio appears to have had more success in convincing Trump to act in his second term, Bolton said.
“I think this time Trump was persuaded, obviously, to get involved because of Rubio’s persistence and the political benefits,” he said.
Following his tenure as national security adviser, Bolton became a prominent critic of Trump. He currently faces a series of charges related to the transmission and retention of defense information.
A CNN contacted the White House for comment on Bolton’s statements.
