As a Cuban American who survived the horrors of communism and went on to work on Latin American policy issues for many years, I was moved when I watched Vice President Mike Pence bring hope to the Venezuelan people during his Monday meeting with the country’s interim president, Juan Guaido.

In his remarks to the Lima Group in Colombia, Pence made clear that the United States continues to stand with the Venezuelan people and rejects Nicolas Maduro’s Cuban-backed socialism.