Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Delivers Remarks on Venezuela
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday urged all members of the Organization of American States to support the interim presidency of Juan Guaido in Venezuela, referring to Nicolas Maduro’s embattled regime as “now defunct” and “illegitimate.”
“We call on the OAS and all its member states to act on basic, decent democratic principles and the incontrovertible facts on the ground,” Pompeo said.
“His regime is morally bankrupt, it’s economically incompetent and it is profoundly corrupt,” he added about Maduro. “It is undemocratic to the core.”
His comments follow President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Guaido, the Venezuelan opposition leader, as the country’s interim president, a move that has set the stage for dramatic escalation in the coming days, as forces within and outside Venezuela wrestle to determine its future.
The European Union and several Latin American countries are also supporting Guaido.
