Secretary of State Pompeo ordered all U.S. diplomatic staff to leave Venezuela. The move appeared to signal tougher U.S. actions to unseat President Maduro.
for Venezuela, said the Trump administration did not recognize Maduro as president and so his government could not hold talks or expel diplomats.
“Their security is always paramount, and it’s just gotten very difficult,” Pompeo told a radio station in Houston. Guaido declared himself president after claiming Maduro’s reelection was illegitimate. About 50 countries now have recognized Guaido as interim president. Maduro accused U.S. agents and his political opponents of causing the blackouts with a cyber-attack. The Venezuelan attorney general’s office opened a criminal investigation into whether Guaido was responsible.U.S. officials denied any involvement, blaming Maduro’s government for failing to keep the lights on through neglect and incompetence.
On Monday, the Treasury Department added a Moscow-based bank owned jointly by Russian and Venezuelan state-owned companies to the blacklist of firms and individuals barred from doing business with U.S. citizens. “Nicolas Maduro promised Venezuelans a better life in a socialist paradise,” Pompeo said. “He delivered on the socialism part. ... The paradise part, not so much.”
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