Bolton: All Options Are on the Table Regarding Venezuela

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said earlier in the day that the United States had signed off on an attempted coup in Venezuela by calling on the country's armed forces to support the opposition parliament.

During a speech at the White House, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said that all options were on the table regarding the current situation in Venezuela.

"We want as our principal objective a peaceful transfer of power," Bolton said. "But I will say again: [Venezuela's President] Nicolas Maduro and those supporting him, particularly those who are not Venezuelans, should know that all options are on the table."

The senior official further claimed that Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino, Supreme Court chief judge Maikel Moreno and presidential guard commander Ivan Rafael Hernandez Dala must make good on commitments they purportedly made to the opposition for a peaceful transition of power away from Maduro.

​Earlier in the day, Venezuelan opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim president of the country Juan Guaido published a video calling on soldiers to join the ranks of his supporters against Maduro.

READ MORE: Police Arrive at Venezuelan Embassy in Washington With Handcuffs, Block Entrance

Earlier, Maduro accused Washington of orchestrating a coup to install Guaido as a US puppet. Russia, China and several other states support Maduro as the country’s legitimate president.