U.S. observes surge in contact with Venezuela's military

U.S. contacts with Venezuelan military officials have surged since last week's attempted uprising against President Nicolas Maduro, a U.S. senior administration official said on Friday.

U.S. officials have also been in touch with former Venezuelan General Manuel Cristopher, who was the head of the South American country's Sebin intelligence service until he broke with Maduro and left the country, to offer support, the official told a small group of reporters.