Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, and then-Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, spoke with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last September in an attempt to negotiate Maduro’s exit from power and re-open Venezuela to business, reports The Washington Post.
Later in 2019, Giuliani was hired by Venezuelan energy executive Alejandro Betancourt López to help him contend with a Justice Department investigation of alleged money laundering and bribery.
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton rejected Giuliani’s plan to assist in Maduro’s ouster, as Bolton is reported to have been the architect behind the Trump administration’s attempts to unseat the socialist leader with tougher sanctions. Neither Bolton nor Giuliani would comment on the Post’s reporting.
The U.S. in January formally recognized Juan Guaido as president of Venezuela, a move backed by Bolton.
Sessions visited Maduro in Caracas ahead of the phone call in an attempt to negotiate a path to improved relations between the U.S. and Venezuela.
Giuliani’s back-channel efforts are highlighted as rare, though not uncommon as the former New York City mayor is at the center of the impeachment process against Trump as he pressured officials to announce investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, for corruption.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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