Florida Sen. Marco Rubio discussed the role of the U.S. military in Venezuela as tensions mount over the election results. NBC6’s Laura Rodriguez reports
Pressure continues to mount on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as leaders around the world call on him to release vote tallies.
Thursday morning in Doral, a group of Venezuelans met outside U.S. Southern Command to give a letter to the Commander. Freddy Solorzano says an assistant for the General accepted the letter on her behalf. The letter calls for United States intervention in Venezuela.
"Please, eyes on Venezuela. We need the support. Military support,” Jim Pulgar said.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, however, does not think U.S. military intervention is likely.
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"I don’t know of anyone who is advocating for that seriously within American policy circles, so I don't think we need to spend a lot of time talking about something that's just not possible frankly,” Rubio said.
Rubio believes Venezuela’s own military and police force are key to achieving change in the country.
“I do think there are ways working with other countries that we can do as much as we can to increase the chances that there won’t be a bloodbath because the rank and file serving with arms and with uniforms refuse to partake in that and that's a critical component here,” Rubio said.
The top U.S. Diplomat for Latin America recognized the opposition candidate as the winner of Sunday's election, but it's unclear what the Biden administration will do next.
In an op-ed published Thursday in the Wall Street Journal, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said she is “hiding, fearing for my life, my freedom, and that of my fellow countrymen.” She reasserted that the opposition has physical evidence that Maduro lost the election and urged the international community to intervene.
“We have voted Mr. Maduro out,” she wrote. “Now it is up to the international community to decide whether to tolerate a demonstrably illegitimate government.”
