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Pompeo says U.S. won't quit fight in Venezuela, defends sanctions

13 April 2019 02:04 (UTC +04:00)

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday defended sanctions on Venezuela and said the United States would not “quit the fight” in the socialist-run Latin American nation which is spiraling into deepening economic and political crisis, ONA reports quoting Reuters.

Pompeo is on a three-day trip to Chile, Paraguay and Peru, a clutch of fast-growing countries in a region where Washington’s concerns are focused on China’s growing presence as well as the Venezuelan crisis.

“The United States and its allies will not quit this fight,” he said during an event in Chilean capital Santiago, adding that the country would keep supporting Venezuelans “courageously standing up for democracy in their home country.”

Washington is pressuring President Nicolas Maduro to step down and urging more countries to join the coalition supporting opposition leader Juan Guaido. South America has seen a political shift in recent years toward the right, and most nations have backed Guaido.