Today President Trump is delivering a speech in Florida to Miami’s Venezuelan community. The speech is being delivered at Florida International University in Miami and the anticipated start time is approximately 4:25pm EST.
UPDATE: Video Added
President Trump delivers remarks from the oval office while introducing Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez. The primary topic between the two leaders is the ongoing crisis in Venezuela. President Trump praised interim Venezuelan president Juan Guaidó for being “brave”, and answered a variety of media questions. [Video and transcript]:
David Malpass is President Trump’s nominee to lead the World Bank. Mr. Malpass sat down with Trish Regan for his first media interview as the nomination process proceeds.
The area around Miami, Florida, is home to the largest group of Venezuela exiles in the U.S. Today, there are two competing mass demonstrations taking place within Venezuela, supportive of both the pro-Maduro regime and the pro-Guaidó movement.
Yesterday Vice-President Mike Pence delivered a speech to a Doral, FL, audience that supports the ouster of Maduro.
Russia and China have invested billions in Venezuela to prop-up the Maduro regime. On Monday the U.K. denied Maduro access to $1.2 billion in gold held by the Bank of England. On Monday night a Russian aircraft landed in Caracus. On Tuesday it was reported that 20 tonnes of Venezuela gold bars have gone missing (link).
“President Donald J. Trump spoke today with Venezuelan Interim President Juan Guaido to congratulate him on his historic assumption of the presidency and to reinforce President Trump’s strong support for Venezuela’s fight to regain its democracy.”
“Interim President Guaido thanked President Trump for the United States’ commitment to freedom and prosperity in Venezuela and the region, and noted the importance of the large protests across Venezuela against former dictator Maduro, set to occur today and Saturday. They agreed to maintain regular communication to support Venezuela’s path back to stability, and to rebuild the bilateral relationship between the United States and Venezuela.” ~ White House
Keep in mind that China has loaned Venezuela over $50 billion in the past five years. In exchange, Venezuela gave China a 49% stake in PDVSA. Venezuela makes payments on the loans via oil shipments to China.
(VIA U.S. Treasury Dept) Today the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13850 for operating in the oil sector of the Venezuelan economy. PdVSA is a Venezuelan state-owned oil company and a primary source of Venezuela’s income and foreign currency, to include U.S. dollars and Euros.
“The United States is holding accountable those responsible for Venezuela’s tragic decline, and will continue to use the full suite of its diplomatic and economic tools to support Interim President Juan Guaidó, the National Assembly, and the Venezuelan people’s efforts to restore their democracy,” said Secretary of the Treasury Steven T. Mnuchin.
Venezuela dictator Nicolas Maduro has broken-off diplomatic relations with the U.S. and demanded all attache’s to return home. However the top Venezuela military attache within the U.S. has now backed President Juan Guaido as the legitimate president and will remain in the U.S.
(Via Miami Herald) The military attaché at the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, Col. José Luis Silva, broke with the Nicolás Maduro regime Saturday and urged other armed forces members to recognize Juan Guaidó as the legitimate interim president of the South American nation.
“As the Venezuelan defense attaché in the United States, I do not recognize Mr. Nicolás Maduro as president of Venezuela,” Silva told el Nuevo Herald in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo holds a press conference on the crisis in Venezuela, and introduces Elliot Abrams as the primary U.S. liaison and point-of-contact for the Venezuela Democracy Initiative.
The U.S. Embassy is remaining open and staffed; however, the State Department has requested all non-emergency U.S. government employees to leave Venezuela. Additionally, the U.S. embassy in Caracus is warning all American citizens to “strongly consider” departing the country while commercial flights are still available.
The security concerns surround a possibility an increasingly isolated dictator Nicolas Maduro may retaliate against Americans in Venezuela. National Security Adviser John Bolton discusses the current status.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department on Thursday ordered some U.S. government workers to leave Venezuela and said U.S. citizens should consider leaving the country, a day after Washington recognized an opposition politician as Venezuela’s president.
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The diplomatic activity that took place in the lead-up to the events yesterday must have been exceptionally coordinated. Literally within minutes of Venezuela’s legislature decreeing opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president dozens of countries aligned with support and affirmation.
Earlier today Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered remarks about the U.S. support for Guaido and the people of Venezuela during a speech at the OAS: