Maduro Accuses Musk of Spending $1bn on Coup Attempt
Nicolas Maduro has asserted that Elon Musk has put in a minimum of $1 billion to try to topple the Venezuelan government. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has accused tech billionaire Elon Musk of investing over $1 billion to foment violence in Venezuela following the presidential election earlier this year.
Maduro was declared the winner of the July 28 election by national authorities, although the U.S. asserted that the victory had been stolen from opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez.
In a recent television program, Maduro claimed to possess direct knowledge that Musk, with whom he has been engaged in a long-standing public feud, had allocated “no less than $1 billion” toward “the coup d’etat, the fascist outbreak, the violence against the electoral process in Venezuela.” He specifically named opposition figure Maria Corina Machado as the individual distributing these funds to “fascist” groups, alleging that the U.S. government was behind efforts to remove him from power.
After the July election, Musk accused Maduro of “major election fraud.” In response, Maduro labeled the South African-born billionaire his “arch enemy,” stating that Musk “controls the virtual reality” created by social media. The two even joked about settling their differences through a fistfight, which ultimately did not materialize. Musk has also made threats to singe Maduro’s famous mustache “from space” following a threat to suspend his social media platform X in Venezuela.
The U.S. has historically sought to apply economic and political pressure on Venezuela with the aim of changing its government. For years, Washington and other Western nations recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido over Maduro, allowing Guaido to stake claims on Venezuelan national assets in Western jurisdictions, including investments in oil companies on U.S. soil and gold reserves held at the Bank of England.
Musk has previously indicated support for the removal of foreign governments to further his corporate interests. In July 2020, he responded to a claim that the U.S. orchestrated a coup against Bolivian President Evo Morales to gain access to the country’s lithium reserves for his electric car company, Tesla, with the remark: “We will coup whoever we want! Deal with it.”
Morales was removed from power by right-wing political forces during the mass protests of 2019, which followed a contested presidential election. His political party, Movement for Socialism, returned to power by winning the 2020 general election and thwarting a military coup earlier this year.
Max Fischer contributed to this report for TROIB News
Maduro was declared the winner of the July 28 election by national authorities, although the U.S. asserted that the victory had been stolen from opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez.
In a recent television program, Maduro claimed to possess direct knowledge that Musk, with whom he has been engaged in a long-standing public feud, had allocated “no less than $1 billion” toward “the coup d’etat, the fascist outbreak, the violence against the electoral process in Venezuela.” He specifically named opposition figure Maria Corina Machado as the individual distributing these funds to “fascist” groups, alleging that the U.S. government was behind efforts to remove him from power.
After the July election, Musk accused Maduro of “major election fraud.” In response, Maduro labeled the South African-born billionaire his “arch enemy,” stating that Musk “controls the virtual reality” created by social media. The two even joked about settling their differences through a fistfight, which ultimately did not materialize. Musk has also made threats to singe Maduro’s famous mustache “from space” following a threat to suspend his social media platform X in Venezuela.
The U.S. has historically sought to apply economic and political pressure on Venezuela with the aim of changing its government. For years, Washington and other Western nations recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido over Maduro, allowing Guaido to stake claims on Venezuelan national assets in Western jurisdictions, including investments in oil companies on U.S. soil and gold reserves held at the Bank of England.
Musk has previously indicated support for the removal of foreign governments to further his corporate interests. In July 2020, he responded to a claim that the U.S. orchestrated a coup against Bolivian President Evo Morales to gain access to the country’s lithium reserves for his electric car company, Tesla, with the remark: “We will coup whoever we want! Deal with it.”
Morales was removed from power by right-wing political forces during the mass protests of 2019, which followed a contested presidential election. His political party, Movement for Socialism, returned to power by winning the 2020 general election and thwarting a military coup earlier this year.
Max Fischer contributed to this report for TROIB News
