Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday denied a report that she had negotiated with the United States to oust President Nicolas Maduro.
The Miami Herald newspaper reported that Rodriguez and her brother Jorge, the president of the National Assembly, attempted to present themselves to Washington as a “more acceptable” alternative to the leftist authoritarian Maduro.
Writing on Telegram, Rodriguez said: “FAKE!! Another media outlet adding to the filth of psychological warfare against the Venezuelan people.”
“They have no ethics or morals,” she wrote.
She later shared a photo of herself with Maduro, captioned: “Together and united with President Maduro.”
The United States charges Maduro, who is accused of stealing elections last year, of heading a drug cartel.
President Donald Trump has deployed warships to the Caribbean as part of what he has described as an anti-drug trafficking operation.
The US forces have blown up at least five suspected drug boats in the Caribbean since early September, leaving 27 people dead.
In a significant escalation, Trump indicated Wednesday he had authorized covert CIA operations against Venezuela and was considering attacks on land against alleged drug cartels in the country.
According to the Miami Herald, the Rodriguez siblings pitched themselves as the “more palatable” version of “chavismo” — the socialist ideology of late firebrand president Hugo Chavez and his chosen successor Maduro.
The Herald reported that the pair presented Washington with two proposals conveyed by intermediaries in Qatar, a country that has previously mediated between the United States and Venezuela on prisoner exchanges.
It said the offers were made with Maduro’s approval and involved an exiled retired general leading a transitional government.
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© Agence France-Presse
