Sunday, August 4, 2019
Canada, U.S. working to move EU toward sanctions on Venezuela, says top U.S. official
Brennan MacDonald, Katie
Simpson. CBC News. August 1, 2019
Donald Trump's special
representative for Venezuela says Canada and the U.S. are strategizing on how
to move the European Union toward imposing sanctions on the Nicolás Maduro
regime.
"We both agreed that it
would be really helpful if the EU would follow Canada and the U.S. in imposing
sanctions on the Maduro regime," said Elliott Abrams in an interview on
CBC News Network's Power & Politics.
"Europe is a kind of
playground for people from the regime and their families — where their money
is, they have houses there, they live the high life there — which is really
disgraceful. So we strategized a bit about how, with the help of the Latin
American democracies, to move the EU in that direction," Abrams told guest
host Katie Simpson.
When asked for comment, Global
Affairs Canada did not directly address the remarks made by Abrams.
"Canadian government
officials discussed how Canada and the U.S. can work with the broader
international community to return democracy to the people of Venezuela,"
said Barbara Harvey, a spokesperson for Global Affairs.
"For some time, the Lima
Group has been engaging its partners around the world in support of sanctions
and other measures to pressure the Maduro regime," said Harvey.
Abrams was in Ottawa Thursday
to meet with Canadian officials ahead of next week's meeting on Venezuela in
Lima.
Trump says U.S. blockade or quarantine of Venezuela under consideration
Reuters. August 1, 2019
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was considering a quarantine or
blockade of Venezuela, as the United States steps up pressure on President
Nicolas Maduro to relinquish power.
Trump did not elaborate on
when or how such a blockade could be imposed, and his administration has so far
focused on diplomatic and economic pressure against Maduro while steering clear
of any military action.
Asked by a reporter whether he
was considering such a measure, given the amount of involvement by China and
Iran in Venezuela, Trump said: “Yes, I am.” He gave no details.
Venezuela’s Information
Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The United States and most Western countries recognize opposition politician Juan Guaido as the rightful leader of Venezuela.
Trump has slapped a series of
escalating sanctions on Venezuela to pressure Maduro to step down and has
previously declined to rule out military action. But U.S. officials have made
clear that they are focused on economic and diplomatic measures and have shown
no significant signs of taking up military options.
Washington’s Latin American
allies have also cautioned against U.S. military intervention.
Russia, China and Iran have expressed support for Maduro and Russia has dispatched small numbers of troops to the South American country.
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