Great satan US considering ‘all options’ against Maduro as political crisis continues in Venezuela

US Vice President Mike Pence has reiterated support for Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido, saying Washington will forgo “dialogue” and consider “all options” to help the Latin American country’s self-proclaimed president against the legal government of President Nicolas Maduro.

“The United States will continue to assert all diplomatic pressure to bring about a peaceful transition to democracy, but those looking on should know this: All options are on the table,” Pence told a crowd of Venezuelans in the state of Florida on Friday.

“And Nicolas Maduro would do well not to test the resolve of the United States,” he warned. “This is no time for dialogue. This is time for action.”

The remarks came days after Maduro said he was ready to sit down with the opposition leader, Guaido, who declared himself “interim president” last month.

“I am ready to sit at the negotiation table with the opposition for us to talk for the benefit of Venezuela, for the sake of peace and its future,” Maduro told Russian news agency RIA in an interview broadcast on Wednesday.

The administration of President Donald Trump has wasted no efforts in stepping up pressure on Maduro since Guaido challenged his leadership. US President Donald Trump immediately recognized the opposition leader as the legitimate president of the oil-rich country, and soon after that Washington imposed unilateral sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry in an attempt to boost the opposition.

The move prompted a furious response from Maduro, who vowed to take legal action against Washington.

Bolton threatens to send Maduro to Guantanamo

Meanwhile, Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, who has floated possible military action against Venezuela, pushed the envelope even further, suggesting that Maduro should choose between retirement or possible imprisonment in the US military’s notorious detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

“I wish him [Maduro] a long, quiet retirement on a pretty beach far from Venezuela. And the sooner he takes advantage of that, the sooner he’s likely to have a nice, quiet retirement on a pretty beach rather than being in some other beach area like Guantanamo,” Bolton .told a radio interview on Friday.