The White House will revoke 77 visas of Venezuelan nationals it says are part of strongman Nicolas Maduro’s inner circle as the administration continues to put pressure on the Maduro regime’s claim to power.
Vice President Mike Pence told American Hispanic leaders at the Latino Coalition’s Legislative Summit in Washington on Wednesday about that additional step by the administration. The revocation of the 77 visas includes individuals who the U.S. considers close to Maduro’s sphere of power and their families.
“Nicolas Maduro is a dictator with no legitimate claim to power, and Nicolas Maduro must go,” Pence told the small business leaders.
[Read more: Pence issues stern warning to Maduro, suggests military action possible]
Maduro is locked in a power struggle over Venezuela with the U.S.-backed Juan Guaido after his 2018 re-election campaign. Opposition leaders and members of the international community questioned the legitimacy of the election results, citing massive electoral irregularities. Maduro has so far resisted pressure to re-do the election, resulting in the democratically elected National Assembly leader Guaido declaring himself the interim leader of Venezuela.
The move is an addition to a lengthy list of actions the Trump administration has been taking the past several weeks in an attempt to diplomatically blockage the Maduro regime. National security adviser John Bolton Wednesday warned that international banking systems could be subject to a new wave of sanctions for lucrative contracts and agreements with high-level members of the Maduro regime.
“The United States is putting foreign financial institutions on notice that they will face sanctions for being involved in facilitating illegitimate transactions that benefit Nicolas Maduro and his corrupt network,” nBolton said in a statement Wednesday. “We will not allow Maduro to steal the wealth of the Venezuelan people.”
Last week, the White House announced it would impose sanctions on accounts owned by six of Maduro’s top military and internal security officials, which Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin confirmed.
“We are sanctioning members of Maduro’s security forces in response to the reprehensible violence, tragic deaths, and unconscionable torching of food and medicine destined for sick and starving Venezuelans,” Mnuchin said.
