Trump pleads with Venezuela's military to back Guaido

US President Donald Trump on Monday pleaded with Venezuela's military to support opposition leader Juan Guaido and issued a dire warning if they continue to stand with President Nicolas Maduro's government.

President Donald Trump speaks to a Venezuelan American community at Florida Ocean Bank Convocation Center at Florida International University in Miami, Fla., Monday, Feb. 18, 2019. [Photo: AP]

"You will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out. You will lose everything," Trump said in a speech at Florida International University in Miami before large American and Venezuelan flags.

Trump added: "We seek a peaceful transition of power, but all options are open."

The Venezuelan military could play a decisive role in the stalemate but has largely remained loyal to Maduro.

In remarks broadcast on state television, Maduro accused the U.S. president of speaking in an "almost Nazi style" and lashed out at Trump for thinking he can deliver orders to Venezuela's military.

"Who is the commander of the armed forces, Donald Trump from Miami?" Maduro said. "They think they're the owners of the country."

Trump said "a new day is coming in Latin America," as he sought to rally support among the largest Venezuelan community in the U.S. for Juan Guaido. The U.S. recognizes him as the country's rightful president and condemns Maduro's government and its socialist policies.

As the months-long political crisis stretched on, the military has blocked the U.S. from moving tons of humanitarian aid airlifted in recent days to the Colombian border with Venezuela. The aid shipments have been meant in part to dramatize the hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine that are gripping Venezuela. Trump said of Maduro, "He would rather see his people starve than give them aid."

Venezuela's power struggle is headed to a potentially violent showdown Saturday, when Guaido will try to run caravans of U.S. humanitarian aid across the Venezuelan border from Colombia. Maduro denies a humanitarian crisis exists, blaming the Trump administration for mounting a coup against him.

More than 2 million Venezuelans have fled the country in the last two years, most flooding across the border into Colombia, Brazil and Peru. Those left behind struggle to afford scarce supplies of food and medicine as inflation soars.

South Florida is home to more than 100,000 Venezuelans and Venezuelan-Americans, the largest concentration in the country. Speaking in the presidential battleground state, Trump also sought to draw a contrast with the policies of progressive Democrats, which he brands as "socialist," as he gears up for re-election.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza met with U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams over the weekend to address the two countries' relationship.
In statements broadcast on Venezuelan state television, Arreaza said that at the meetings "there have been moments of tension, there are profound differences, but at the same time there are shared concerns and hopefully we can build on this dialogue proposed by the State Department."
Arreaza said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is aware of every detail of the meetings that have taken place.
Recently, Washington has stepped up economic and diplomatic pressure against the Maduro government.
On Jan. 23, the Trump administration recognized Juan Guaido as the nation's "interim president," a move that came days after Maduro was inaugurated for a second term as Venezuelan president.
In response to Washington's support for Guaido, Maduro announced he was severing "diplomatic and political" ties with the United States, ordering all the U.S. diplomatic and consular personnel to leave Venezuela in 72 hours.

(Story includes material sourced from AP and Xinhua.)