纽约时报 美政府曾和委内瑞拉叛变分子密谋推翻马杜罗(3)（在线收听）

They later planned to take power in March, the former officer said, but that plan leaked.

该前任军官还透露，他们后来又计划3月份夺取政权，但该计划被泄露了。

Finally, the dissidents looked to the May 20 election, during which Mr. Maduro was re-elected, as a new target date.

最后，持不同政见者们又将目光瞄准了5月20日的大选，也就是马杜罗参加连任竞选那日。

But again, word got out and the plotters held their fire.

然而，计划再次泄露，密谋者们只得继续按兵不动。

It is unclear how many of these details the coup planners shared with the Americans.

关于政变的这些细节策划者们到底对美国人透露了多少尚不得而知。

But there is no indication that Mr. Maduro knew the mutinous officers were talking to the Americans at all.

然而，目前没有任何蛛丝马迹能表明马杜罗知道反叛军官们与美方来往之事。

For any of the plots to have worked, the former commander said, he and his comrades believed they needed to detain Mr. Maduro and other top government figures simultaneously.

这位前指挥官表示，他和他的战友们一致认为，上述任何一次行动要想成功，他们都需要同时扣押马杜罗和政府其他高层。

To do that, he added, the rebel officers needed a way to communicate securely.

而要做到这一点，他补充到，反叛军官们就需要安全的沟通渠道。

They made their request during their second meeting with the American diplomat, which took place last year.

去年与美国外交官第二次会面时他们提出了这一要求。

The American diplomat relayed the request to Washington, where senior officials turned it down, American officials said.

那位外交官向华盛顿转达了请求，但被高层回绝了，据美国方面的官员们透露。

“We were frustrated,” said the former Venezuelan commander. “There was a lack of follow-through. They left me waiting.”

“我们很失望，”那位前委内瑞拉指挥官说。“他们没有展开后续行动，就让我干等着。”

The American diplomat then met the coup plotters a third time early this year,

今年年初，那位外交官和政变策划者们展开了第三次会面，

but the discussions did not result in a promise of material aid or even a clear signal that Washington endorsed the rebels’ plans,

但讨论并没有达成实质性援助的承诺，连能清晰显示华盛顿赞同叛乱分子的计划的迹象都没有，

according to the Venezuelan commander and several American officials.

据那位委内瑞拉指挥官和几位美国官员透露。

Still, the Venezuelan plotters could view the meetings as tacit approval of their plans, argued Peter Kornbluh, a historian at the National Security Archive at George Washington University.

但乔治·华盛顿大学国家安全档案馆的历史学家彼得·科恩布鲁表示，委内瑞拉的政变策划者们还是可以将那几次会面视为美国默许了他们的计划。

“The United States always has an interest in gathering intelligence on potential changes of leadership in governments,” Mr. Kornbluh said.

“美国一直都对收集有关其他国家政府领导层可能发生变化的情报有着浓厚的兴趣，”科恩布鲁说到，

“But the mere presence of a U.S. official at such a meeting would likely be perceived as encouragement.”

“哪怕只是一位美国官员出席这样的会面都可能被视为对他们的纵容。”

In its statement, the White House called the situation in Venezuela “a threat to regional security and democracy”

在一份声明中，白宫称委内瑞拉的形势“威胁了地区的安全和民主”，

and said that the Trump administration would continue to strengthen a coalition of “like-minded, and right-minded, partners from Europe to Asia to the Americas

还表示特朗普政府会继续强化“由来自欧洲、亚洲、美洲志同道合，思想正确的合作伙伴组成的”联盟，

to pressure the Maduro regime to restore democracy in Venezuela.”

对马杜罗政权施加压力，迫使他们恢复委内瑞拉的民主。”

American officials have openly discussed the possibility that Venezuela’s military could take action.

美国官员公开讨论了委内瑞拉军队采取行动的可能性。

On Feb. 1, Rex W. Tillerson, who was secretary of state at the time, delivered a speech in which he said the United States had not “advocated for regime change or removal of President Maduro.”

2月1日，当时担任国务卿的雷克斯·W. 蒂勒森发表了讲话，期间表示美国并没有“倡导改变政权或推翻马杜罗总统。”

Yet, responding to a question afterward, Mr. Tillerson raised the potential for a military coup.

然而，后来在问答问题时，蒂勒森先生又提高了发动军事政变的可能性。

“When things are so bad that the military leadership realizes that it just can’t serve the citizens anymore, they will manage a peaceful transition,” he said.

“当局面糟糕到军事政权领导层都意识到它再也无法为公民服务时，他们就会选择和平过渡，”他说。

Days later, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who has sought to shape the Trump administration’s approach toward Latin America,

几天后，试图塑造特朗普政府对拉美所持态度的佛罗里达参议员马克·卢比奥，

wrote a series of Twitter posts that encouraged dissident members of the Venezuelan armed forces to topple their commander in chief.

发了好几条推文，鼓励委内瑞拉武装部队持不同政见的成员推翻他们的总司令。

“Soldiers eat out of garbage cans & their families go hungry in Venezuela while Maduro & friends live like kings & block humanitarian aid,” Mr. Rubio wrote.

卢比奥写道：“在委内瑞拉，士兵们吃的都是垃圾桶里捡来的食物，他们的家人还在挨饿，马杜罗和他的朋友则过着国王般的生活，还阻止人道主义援助。”

He then added: “The world would support the Armed Forces in #Venezuela if they decide to protect the people & restore democracy by removing a dictator.”

之后他又补充道：“如果委内瑞拉的武装部队决定推翻独裁者，保护人民，恢复民主，那么，全世界都会支持他们。”