President Donald Trump is seeking “a peaceful, orderly return to democracy” in Venezuela, the White House insisted Sunday following a report contending that administration officials met in secret with coup plotters in the restive South American nation over the past year.

“U.S. policy preference for a peaceful, orderly return to democracy in Venezuela remains unchanged,” National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis said in a statement.

“The United States government hears daily the concerns of Venezuelans from all walks of life – be they members of the ruling party, the security services, elements of civil society or from among the millions of citizens forced by the regime to flee abroad. They share one goal: the rebuilding of democracy in their homeland,” Marquis added.

The New York Times earlier Saturday reported that members of the Trump administration established a clandestine backchannel to arrange covert meetings starting in the fall of 2017 with aggrieved military officers who had grown disenchanted with leftist President Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian rule. The U.S. officials eventually opted not to abet the conspirators, according to the report.

“A lasting solution to Venezuela’s worsening crisis can only arise following restoration of governance by democratic practices, the rule of law, and respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms,” Marquis said.

Source:
@BRUDIRECT.COM

by QUINT FORGEY

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