Pompeo Blames Russia, Cuba for Venezuela Crisis

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed Russia and Cuba as the main reason for the political crisis in Venezuela, as they supported President Nicolas Maduro, saying that he had urged India not to buy Venezuelan oil and by that to stop support Maduro’s government.

According to Reuters, the statement came after the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Russian bank Evrofinance Mosnarbank because they helped the Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA to evade American financial restrictions.

“This story is not complete without acknowledging the central role Cuba and Russia have played and continue to play in undermining the democratic dreams of the Venezuelan people and their welfare. Moscow, like Havana, continues to provide political cover to the Maduro regime, while pressuring countries to disregard the democratic legitimacy of the interim president Guaido,” Pompeo stated.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has been recognized by the United States and somewhere around 50 other countries as the interim president, as President Trump’s administration took further steps to confirm this position. On the other hand, President Maduro is resisting the pressure by these countries with the help from countries like Russia, China, Cuba and the military of Venezuela.

Yesterday, Mike Pompeo held a meeting with India’s Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale as they talked about India’s purchases of oil from the Venezuelan government.

“We are asking the same thing of India as we are of every country: do not be the economic lifeline for the Maduro regime. I am very confident in the same way that India has been incredibly supportive of our efforts on Iran. I am confident that they too understand the real threat to the Venezuelan people,” the Secretary of State added.

The Indian market has been the second-largest customer for the OPEC country crude after the United States which after the sanctions handed much of the control to Guaido.

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