Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared on CNN Tuesday and claimed that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was about to flee his country this morning — before Russia convinced him to stay.

Pompeo spoke to Wolf Blitzer and shared this stunning news:

He had an airplane on the tarmac, he was ready to leave this morning, as we understand it, and the Russians indicated he should stay. We think the situation remains incredibly fluid. We know that there were senior leaders inside the Maduro government that were prepared to leave. They told us as much over the past few weeks, and we’re convinced that the Venezuelan people are going to get their democracy back.

“Are the Russians responsible now for what’s going on?” Blitzer asked. Pompeo called out both Russia and Cuba, and said, “The United States is prepared to stand with the Venezuelan people, to support the interim government, to help a free and fair election to take place and then to build back this country.”

Minutes later, Blitzer made a point of asking Pompeo to clarify, saying, “I just want you to elaborate, Mr. Secretary, on what you said earlier, that he was apparently ready to leave, head off to the airport, Maduro, but the Russians talked him out of that. Is that right?”

“That’s right,” Pompeo said. “He was headed for Havana… Many, many conversations that have given us every indication that the fact that Maduro’s plane was parked on the tarmac and he was preparing himself to depart is a fact.”

When Blitzer asked Pompeo if the United States would allow Maduro to safely fly to Cuba, Pompeo replied, “Maduro understands what will happen if he gets on that airplane. He knows our expectations.”

You can watch part of the interview above, via CNN.

[image via screengrab]

from Mediaite http://bit.ly/2DIb7bx