United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived on the Colombo-Venezuelan border in Cucuta this afternoon for a tour of the area. Pompeo was accompanied by Colombian president Ivan Duque.
The video below shows the moment that Pompeo arrived in Cucuta, where he was welcomed by Colombian Foreign Affairs Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo:
Pompeo and Duque visited several sites in the area, including the Simon Bolivar International Bridge and a warehouse in which aid destined for Venezuela is currently being held. Speaking in a joint press conference with Duque at the warehouse, Pompeo said:
The United States will continue to use its economy and policies to help Venezuelans through sanctions and the canceling of visas [of regime officials].
Pompeo also said that he was “thankful” for the leadership shown by “our South American allies”, in clear reference to the role that Colombia has played in the regional response to the Venezuelan migrant situation.
The video below shows Pompeo and Duque waling towards the Simon Bolivar International Bridge, which connects Cucuta in Colombia with San Cristobal in Venezuela:
The clip below shows Venezuelans in the same location chanting “Liberatd! Libertad!” [“Freedom! Freedom!”]:
In the video below, Duque asks a Venezuelan migrant if she’s had her children vaccinated after their arrival in Colombia. The woman says that she will tomorrow, and then tells Duque that she worked in a supermarket. Meanwhile, Pompeo asked through a translator if the man’s parents are still living in Venezuela:
Guaido: “Military Intervention is Not on the Table”
Interim president Juan Guaido said today that a “military intervention is not on the table” as a resolution to the Venezuelan crisis, in what constitutes his loudest and clearest repudiation of the idea.
Guaido made the statement in an interview featured in the Argentinian website El Clarin. In that interview, Guaido argued that a military intervention was already underway in Venezuela, this one involving Russian and Cuban assets.
Guaido has had to react in recent weeks to increasing calls to invoke Article 187(11) of the Constitution, which gives the National Assembly the power to authorize foreign military missions in Venezuela.
US Treasury: Group Working to Set Aside $10 Billion for Post-Maduro Gov’t
United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said yesterday that a group of twenty finance ministers are working to set aside $10 billion in trade finance for Venezuela’s next democratic government. According to Mnuchin, the goal of the financing will be to “spark trade” in a post-Maduro Venezuela.
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