GOP Rep. Says Nicolas Maduro's Wife Could Turn Him In Because She 'Intends To Rule Venezuela'

Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez said on Monday that Venezuelan authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro could be turned in by his own wife, Cilia Flores, as "she is the one who actually intends to rule" the country.

"Maduro is actually Cilia's puppet, something said by (Vice President) Delcy Rodriguez to American officials," Gimenez added.

The claim is one of many posts published by the lawmaker as U.S. forces continue making their way off the coast of the South American country. On Sunday he warned that members and associates of the Venezuelan regime living in the U.S. that they are "being identified" and will "lose their migratory status."

"Chavistas, associates and front-men who are infiltrated inside the U.S. are being identified," Gimenez said. "Those collaborating with the regime will lose their migratory status and if they are naturalized citizens they won't be exempted e

Gimenez has been actively calling for the fall of authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro, celebrating the deployment of U.S. troops off the coast of the country and anticipating it will soon be forced out of power.

On Friday, the lawmaker also echoed a message from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who drew attention to a statement by the Guyanese government expressing its "grave concern" over the "threat to peace and security in the region posed by transnational organized crime and narco-terrorism, often involving criminal networks such as the Cartel de los Soles of Venezuela."

"Such criminal networks have the capacity to overwhelm state institutions, undermine democracy, pervert the rule of law and threaten human dignity and development," added the Guyanese government, which neighbors Venezuela and has a territorial dispute with the country over the Essequibo, a region that represents two-thirds of its land and controls.

Maduro, on his end, said issued a call to arms to all militia members and said he would enlist more to join the army during the weekend. France 24 reported on Sunday that thousands more queued up in Caracas to enlist in civilian militias.

Registration centers were set up in squares across the capital, military and public buildings, including the presidential palace Miraflores. Maduro has said militias already have more than 4.5 million soldiers who are ready. However, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said that in 2020 the figure was actually close to 343,000.

Originally published on Latin Times