Dog whistling a military revolt in Venezuela

“In the history of Venezuela and South American countries, it is often times that the military is the agent of change when things are so bad and the leadership can no longer serve the people," Tillerson said at the University of Texas in Austin on Thursday.

When the people’s patience runs out, the military then “will manage a peaceful transition,” Tillerson said, avoiding terms usually associated with such a chain of events, such as “military coup” or “overthrow.”

The ousting of Maduro is not something Washington aspires to or plots, Tillerson said, noting that “whether that will be the case here or not, I do not know.”

“We have not advocated for regime change or removal of President Maduro. We have advocated that they return to the constitution,” he stated, adding that Maduro’s political fate will depend on the outcome of elections.

  RT

No, we've not advocated for regime change. Not at all.

The latest national election held in Venezuela - the one that led to the inauguration of the National Constituent Assembly in August - was not recognized by Washington, which slapped the country with several rounds of sanctions targeting the financial and energy sectors of the oil-rich country.

[...]

Washington has not recognized the outcome of Venezuela’s gubernatorial elections, in which President Nicholas Maduro’s Socialist party grabbed 17 out of 23 state governorship last October. The US has accused Maduro of nurturing “an authoritarian dictatorship.”

[...]

Tillerson touted the idea that the Venezuelan president should consider leaving the country voluntarily before things get heated.

“Then, if the kitchen gets a little too hot for him, I am sure that he’s got some friends over in Cuba that could give him a nice hacienda on the beach and he could have a nice life over there,” he said.

[...]

In August, US President Donald Trump indicated that a military operation might be on the cards. “A military option is certainly something we could pursue,” he said at the time. However, the Pentagon denied that it had been tasked with devising a potential military scenario for Venezuela.

Tillerson was speaking ahead of his first multi-nation Latin America tour, during which he is set to visit Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Colombia and Jamaica.

Maybe he could find a nice little hut in Jamaica and have a nice life over there, and the US could rebuild the State Department.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.