CARACAS (Dispatches) -- Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has called for "direct relationship” with the U.S. military in his latest bid to oust the government of President Nicolas Maduro with American help.
Guaido said at a Saturday rally in the capital Caracas that he had instructed his envoy in Washington, Carlos Vecchio, to immediately establish ties with Pentagon officials for possible military "cooperation.”
"We have instructed our ambassador Carlos Vecchio to meet immediately with the Southern Command and its admiral to establish direct relationship for cooperation," Guaido said.
"We have said from the beginning that we will use all the resources at our disposal to build pressure."
The remarks are regarded as one of Guaido’s strongest public pleas for greater U.S. involvement in the Latin American country’s fast-escalating economic and political crisis.
The Venezuelan opposition leader told an Italian newspaper this week that he would "probably" accept a U.S. military intervention if Washington proposed it.
Guaido has repeatedly echoed comments from the U.S. administration that "all options” are on the table for removing Maduro.
In a tweet on Thursday, the U.S. Southern Command (SOCOM) said it was prepared to discuss "how we can support the future role" of Venezuelan military leaders who "restore constitutional order" when invited by Guaido.
Last Tuesday, a small group of armed troops accompanying Guaido clashed with soldiers at an anti-government rally in Caracas in an attempted coup that soon petered out. More than 100 people were reportedly injured as a result of the violence.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which has recognized a self-proclamation by Guaido as the "interim president” of Venezuela, quickly backed the attempted putsch.
Maduro, who has called Guaido a puppet of Washington, announced in a televised speech later in the day that the group of military personnel supporting Guaido had been defeated and 25 renegade soldiers had sought refuge at the Brazilian embassy in Caracas.
Most Latin American countries, as well as the European Union, have expressed opposition to a potential military intervention in Venezuela.
On Saturday, Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino lashed out at what he said was an illegal incursion by a U.S. Coast Guard vessel into Venezuelan territorial waters.
Padrino said that the Venezuelan Navy had forced the U.S. vessel to withdraw and change course.