Vice President Pence traveled to Bogotá, Colombia, on Monday and urged regional leaders to support Juan Guaidó, the self-proclaimed interim president of
Vice President Pence traveled to Bogotá, Colombia, on Monday and urged regional leaders to support Juan Guaidó, the self-proclaimed interim president of Venezuela, vowing that the U. S. will stand with the opposition leader „until your libertad is restored.“
Pence also announced U. S. sanctions against several border-state governors aligned with embattled Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro who are said to be involved in blocking shipments of humanitarian aid from reaching Venezuelans.
Military forces have prevented most of the food and medicine from crossing the country’s borders with Brazil and Colombia. Clashes with protesters and volunteers trying to unload truckloads of aid resulted in the deaths of least four people this weekend. Hundreds more were wounded.
Trucks carrying items were torched, amid tear gas fired by the military and attacks waged by paramilitary groups, as NPR has reported.
„Just days ago, as the world watched, the tyrant in Caracas danced as his henchmen burned truckloads of food and medicine, and murdered civilians,“ Pence said in remarks to members of the Lima Group, a coalition of nations formed to address the Venezuela turmoil.
„Saturday was a tragic day for the families of those who lost their lives and we mourn for those who mourn,“ Pence said. „It was also a tragic day for the suffering people of Venezuela, but it was also just one more day in Venezuela’s long and inevitable journey from tyranny to freedom.“
Maduro’s government, however, views the aid shipments as a pretext for foreign invasion.
Guaidó and other opposition leaders had hoped the aid would loosen Maduro’s grip on the country. Under the socialist regime, the once prospering country has suffered massive inflation and well as shortages of food and medicine.
