Accra, Jan. 21, (UPI/GNA) – U.S. Secretary
of State Mike Pompeo reiterated his government’s support of Venezuela’s
opposition leader and interim president Juan Guaido in his fight against
embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Pompeo and Guaido met for the first time on
the sidelines of the Third Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial in
Bogota, Colombia, on Monday — a day after Guaido arrived in the neighboring
country despite a pro-government Supreme Court imposed travel ban.
During the press conference, Pompeo lavished
praise on Guaido, calling him “a great leader” who will bring
democracy to the socialist South American nation.
Pompeo also emphasized that nearly 60
countries have recognized Guaido as the interim leader of Venezuela.
“You should know that countries across
the world — in Latin America, where we are today, here in Colombia; in Europe;
in the United States; all across North America — the people, the democratic people
of those countries are with you,” Pompeo said in a message to the
Venezuelan people. “We’re here to ensure — to do everything we can to
ensure — that you get that opportunity, you get the chance simply to live the
lives that you want, with democracy and freedom, so that you can take care of
your families.
“And president Guaido is working
diligently to achieve that,” he said.
Pompeo then pledged the support of the
United States and all the countries participating in the counterterrorism
ministerial to solve the political crisis that has gripped Venezuela since
early last year when Maduro’s 2018 re-election was deemed illegitimate and
Guaido, as leader of the National Assembly, appointed himself interim
president.
Since then, the United States has been
steadily applying pressure to force Maduro from power. However, he has managed
to hold on with the support of Cuba and Russia, and Pompeo said Monday that he
expects the United States to continue to tighten its vises on the Maduro regime
and those responsible for propping him up.
“The work that we’ve done over these
past months has been building to the place that we find ourselves today, and I
would fully expect that there will be further actions that the United States
will take to continue to support president Guaido and the Venezuelan
people,” he said.
Guaido told reporters that he defied the
court ordered travel ban despite the risk of being jailed or killed when he
returns in order to hold meetings in Europe with the European Union and at the
World Economic Forum to be held this week in Davos, Switzerland.
“Yes, there is a risk we assume on
behalf of Venezuelans, in behalf of democracy,” he said.
Asked what European leaders could do for
him, Guaido said he’d prefer to discuss that later but that they are
“implementing strategies to attain our objectives” and to apply
further pressure on Maduro.
“The dictators won’t want to give up
the power they’ve taken,” he said.
“So this is a long-term strategy. We’re
facing it. So there are forces that cannot be stopped when you seek democracy.
This is what we’re seeing in Venezuela. We’re mobilizing. We have demonstrating
and we are not going to be different in the next few months,” he said.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza
lashed back at Pompeo, calling him Guiado’s “puppeteer” who is taking
his puppet on an international tour after failing in its mission to oust
Maduro.
“[Pompeo] finds it hard to understand
that as a puppeteer, he & his work were a monumental failure in
[Venezuela],” Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said in a tweet posted on
Maduro’s account. “Instead of opting for diplomacy, he now dedicates
himself to taking his defeated puppet out into the world. What else could one
expect?”
It was the first meeting between Guaido and
Pompeo. After Guaido announced his surprise arrival in Colombia, he stated he
will be “full of good news” when he returns to Venezuela.
In a tweet, Guaido said an important part of
his agenda abroad is to hold bilateral meetings with the United States during
which he and his counterpart will be “specifying new actions and defining
agreements.”
It was Guaido’s second time defying the
court-imposed travel ban after visiting Colombia in February to help ship
humanitarian aid into the country over a Maduro-imposed blockade.
GNA