Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called Vice President Mike Pence a “poisonous viper” on Wednesday, shortly after Pence addressed a group of Venezuelans.
Pence, who is in the middle of a tour of Latin America, gave a speech at a shelter for Venezuelans in Manaus, Brazil, criticizing the Venezuelan president for his socialist policies.
“The Maduro regime has violently suppressed those who question or criticize their reign,” Pence said. “[S]o many of you have experienced and seen firsthand the extraordinary, heartbreaking, devastating impact of dictatorship on your homeland in Venezuela.”
Later that day on broadcast television, Maduro retaliated.
“Every time the poisonous viper Mike Pence opens his mouth, I feel stronger,” the socialist leader said. “We have defeated you, and we are going to defeat [you] wherever you are.”
Over the past year, Venezuela has suffered from an economic crisis involving hyperinflation, poor health care, and food shortages, causing thousands to flee the country. Pence himself has referred to the country as “a failed state,” and the U.S. labeled its recent presidential election a “sham,” following up with another round of sanctions. The European Union also passed sanctions on 11 Venezuelan officials after the election.
32,000 Venezuelans have sought asylum in Brazil, and another several thousand have requested temporary residency. During his speech, Pence warned the audience about illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Don’t risk your lives or the lives of your children by trying to come to the United States on the road run by drug smugglers and human traffickers,” Pence said. “If you can’t come legally, don’t come at all.”
