Washington, January 28 (RHC)-- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s appointment of Elliott Abrams, a hawkish neo-conservative, to handle U.S. policy toward Venezuela is a covert effort by Washington to oust the government in Caracas, a U.S. writer and academic says.

Abrams will lead U.S. efforts on Venezuela, where Washington has recognized an opposition leader as the South American country’s president, Pompeo announced in Washington.

“Pompeo’s appointment of Elliott Abrams consolidates the effort to overthrow the government of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela,” said James Petras, a retired professor who has published on political issues with particular focus on Latin America and the Middle East.

“Elliott Abrams has a notorious reputation not only in Central America, but also in regard to his support for Israel; Elliott Abrams is a fanatical Zionist who was engaged is supporting Israel’s attempts to conquer and occupy Palestine,” Petras told Press TV over the weekend.

Abrams, a Jewish neoconservative who has long advocated an interventionist U.S. role in the world, has served in the administrations of former U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

Among his positions was a Middle East expert on the National Security Council and later as a global democracy strategy adviser.  He was also assistant secretary of state during the Reagan administration.