The United States has held firm on its position that unless and until Maduro is willing to discuss his exit from the presidential palace, direct talks would probably only strengthen him. In two more meetings before the plot was sprung, Maduro told The Post, he laid a trap for Figuera — who ultimately escaped to Colombia and later the United States. The United States, most Latin American nations and European powers have dismissed the operation as political theater. ADAD“Guaidó is responsible for having lost the National Assembly,” Maduro said. is threatening to begin imposing individual sanctions and travel bans of the kind that already have been slapped on Maduro officials by the United States.

Source: Washington Post January 18, 2020 23:46 UTC