Venezuelan officials proposed plan to slowly replace Maduro that US rejected: report

Venezuelan government officials proposed a plan to slowly replace President Nicolás Maduro, which the U.S. rejected, according to a report.

A former Trump administration official told The Associated Press, according to a Thursday report, that the White House rejected a proposal in which Maduro would step down from power in three years and cede authority to his vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, who would complete the president's current six-year term that ends in January 2031.

According to the plan, Rodriguez would not run for reelection, the official said. The source added that the White House rejected the proposal because the Trump administration questions the legitimacy of Maduro’s rule and accuses him of overseeing a narco-terrorist state.

The White House did not respond to the AP's request for comment.

Maduro criticized reports that Rodríguez would be part of a plan to replace him as an attempt “to divide our people.” And he ridiculed President Trump’s confirmation on Wednesday that he authorized the CIA to operate in Venezuela.

“Can anyone believe the CIA hasn’t been operating in Venezuela for the past 60 years?” Maduro said.

Rodríguez on Thursday called the alleged plan for Maduro to step down fake news.

“FAKE!!” Rodríguez wrote in English on her Telegram account. “More media that add to the garbage dump of the psychological war against the Venezuelan people.”

She also said that Venezuela’s leadership is united.

In January, Maduro was sworn in for a third six-year term, despite credible evidence that he lost last year’s election.

The U.S. military has carried out five strikes against alleged drug smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea, including at least four boats that originated from Venezuela, since early September.

Before the strikes, Trump deployed three Aegis guided-missile destroyers to the waters off Venezuela to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels.