US Outlines Plan for Venezuela Transition, Sanctions Relief

US Outlines Plan for Venezuela Transition, Sanctions Relief
Venezuelan regime leader Nicolas Maduro speaks during a news conference at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, March 12, 2020. Manaure Quintero/Reuters
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MIAMI—The Trump administration is prepared to lift crippling sanctions on Venezuela in support of a new proposal to form a transitional government requiring both Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó to step aside in favor of a five-person governing council, U.S. officials said.

The one-page “Democratic Transition Framework for Venezuela” was presented Tuesday by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. It echoes a proposal made over the weekend by Guaidó that shows how growing concerns about the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus, which threatens to overwhelm the South American country’s already collapsed health system and economy, are reviving U.S. attempts to pull the military apart from Maduro.