John Bolton, former US ambassador to the United Nations and White House national security advisor, said on Tuesday that he helped plot failed coups in other nations.
Bolton made the comments to CNN during the day’s congressional hearing regarding the January 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol.
On Tuesday, the panel’s members accused outgoing President Donald Trump of encouraging violence in a last-ditch attempt to stay in office after losing the 2020 election.
However, in an interview with CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Tuesday, the former Trump adviser said that the 45th president was just not capable of carrying out a “well organized coup d’etat”—and that he would know.
He said: “While nothing Donald Trump did after the election, in connection with the lie about election fraud, is defensible, it’s also a mistake, as some people have said, including on the committee, the commentators, that somehow this was a carefully planned coup d’etat to the constitution.”
“That’s not the way Donald Trump does things.” It’s rambling from one half-vast idea to another plan that falls through and another comes up. ”
His host, Jake Tapper, said: “One doesn’t have to be brilliant to attempt a coup.”
Bolton said: “I disagree with that, as somebody who has helped plan coups d’etat, not here, but you know, other places.” It takes a lot of work, and that’s not what [Trump] did. It was just stumbling around from one idea to another. “
Ultimately, he did unleash the rioters at the Capitol, as to that there’s no doubt, but not to overthrow the constitution, but to buy more time to throw the matter back to the states to try and redo the issue.”
And if you don’t believe that, you’re going to overreact, and I think that’s a real risk for the committee, which has done a lot of good work.
Bolton openly endorsed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido’s demand for the military to help in his quest to depose socialist President Nicolas Maduro in 2019, stating that Maduro’s re-election was fraudulent. Maduro eventually retained control.
“I can tell you there’s a lot going on beneath the surface. The opposition is in constant contact with large numbers of admirals and other supporters within the Maduro administration. “
When asked about the alleged coups, Bolton said that there was a failed attempt to get rid of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, but he wouldn’t say more.
On CNN, Tapper said, “I feel like there’s like all this other stuff you’re not telling me.”
Bolton said: “I think I’m sure there is.”
Bolton openly endorsed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido’s demand for the military to help in his quest to depose socialist President Nicolas Maduro in 2019, stating that Maduro’s re-election was fraudulent. Maduro eventually retained control.
“I can tell you there’s a lot going on beneath the surface. The opposition is in constant contact with large numbers of admirals and other supporters within the Maduro administration. “
However, Venezuela’s military stayed loyal to Maduro, who remained in power.
When asked to expand by CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Tuesday, Bolton said he would not get into specifics and did not identify Venezuela, but added, “It turned out not to be successful.”
Jonathan M. Katz, author of the book Gangsters of Capitalism, stated in his newsletter The Racket: “The United States has indeed sponsored and participated in lots of coups and foreign government overthrows, dating back to the turn of the 20th century [and] Bolton was personally involved in many of the recent efforts – in Nicaragua, Iraq, Haiti, and others.”
But, Katz added, “Generally, officials do not admit that sort of thing on camera.”
Keep in mind that throughout the 2019 crisis, Bolton insisted that the Trump administration’s support for… Guaidó… was anything but a coup.”
At the height of the scandal, he stepped in front of the White House and told reporters: “This is clearly not a coup!”
In those remarks, in April 2019, Bolton said: “We recognize Juan Guaidó as the legitimate interim president of Venezuela.
And just as it’s not a coup when the president of the United States gives an order to the Department of Defense, it’s not a coup for Juan Guaidó to try and take command of the Venezuelan military.
“We want as our principal objective the peaceful transfer of power, but I will say again, as [Trump] has said from the outset, and Nicolas Maduro and those supporting him, particularly those who are not Venezuelan, should know, all options are on the table.”
Prior to Bolton joining the Trump administration, it was widely rumored that Trump intended to employ US military force to depose Maduro. Trump told reporters in August 2017: “We have many options for Venezuela; this is our neighbor.”
In his book, Bolton talks about how he and the British government worked together to freeze Venezuelan gold deposits at the Bank of England, among other things.
Many foreign policy experts have over the years criticized Washington’s history of interventions in other countries, from its role in the 1953 overthrowing of then Iranian nationalist prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and the Vietnam War, to its invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan this century.
However, snippets of his words have gone viral on the internet, attracting millions of views from all around the world. Within hours, they sparked both official and unofficial criticism from international observers, particularly in places where decades of US interference are still fresh in the memory.
Though some Americans were skeptical, foreign adversaries saw this as additional evidence of what they already knew.
The Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, called for an international probe into Bolton’s statements on Thursday.
“It’s critical to know in which other countries the US planned coups,” Zakharova told Radio Sputnik.
“This is no surprise,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily news conference on Thursday. “The admission simply shows that interfering in other countries’ internal affairs and overthrowing their governments has become the standard practice of the U.S. government.”
“This is very much part of the U.S. rule book,” Wang said.
Evo Morales, Bolivia’s former president who was deposed by the military in 2019 amid shady election claims, said in a tweet on Wednesday that the words demonstrated that the US was involved. “The worst enemy of democracy and life.”
But it is very rare for U.S. officials to admit openly that they have contributed to unrest in other countries.
