Venezuela’s Juan Guaidó met with Mike Pompeo, Pelosi and USAID administrator
Venezuela’s National Assembly leader, Juan Guaidó, recognized as the interim president of that country by 59 nations, continued his tour of the United States with meetings with several officials, after a much talked about White House visit.
On Thursday, Guaidó met in Washington, D.C., with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, whom he first met in Bogotá, Colombia, last month, after secretly leaving Venezuela, challenging a travel ban issued by the regime of Nicolás Maduro.
Pompeo and Guaidó “conferred on ways democratic actors and international partners can together open the path to a transitional government responsible for overseeing free and fair Presidential and National Assembly elections,” State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement. “They agreed to redouble efforts to provide the Venezuelan people with what they have been demanding for years: an end to Maduro’s dictatorship and the restoration of democracy, economic prosperity, and dignity to the people of Venezuela.”
In the afternoon, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also hosted the Venezuelan politician.
“Welcome to the Capitol Juan Guaidó,” Pelosi said. “We’re all thrilled that he was at the State of the Union the other day and received such a warm welcome, a bipartisan welcome. We believe that the plight of the people of Venezuela is a challenge on the conscience of the world and we will all stay with you, Mr. President, in that fight.”
Guaidó said that it was important to unite all political forces in support of a common cause “against a dictatorship that hosts terrorists and drug traffickers, which promotes it to destabilize the region.”
South Florida Reps. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Donna Shalala attended the meeting with Guaidó. Miami Republican Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart was not invited, according to his office.
Pelosi said Democrats back free and fair elections to replace Maduro and support Temporary Protected Status, a program that allows Venezuelans in the U.S. to live and work without the fear of deportation. Trump has not backed TPS for Venezuela.
“We want free and fair elections, we want strong bonds between the two countries, we want oil executives who were rounded up by the corrupt Maduro regime to be released,” Pelosi said. “Again, this is something that we care about deeply and I just want to say I’m proud to support Temporary Protected Status as one way to be helpful to Venezuelans that come.”
Mucarsel-Powell said the Trump administration needs to pass TPS, stop deporting Venezuelans in the U.S. and present a long-term strategy for Venezuela to Congress.
“What I would like to see is no more photo-ops, I want to see more action from the administration,” Mucarsel-Powell said in an interview. “Venezuelans are asking for TPS, Juan Guaidó is asking for TPS for Venezuelans, they can’t go back to a country plagued by poverty, misery and a lack of food and medicine.”
Later in the afternoon, the Venezuelan leader held a meeting with Luis Almagro, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States.
The first event on Guaidó’s Thursday agenda was a meeting with the administrator of the United States Agency for Development, Mark Green.
Green and Guaidó agreed to work together “to combat disinformation by the illegitimate Maduro regime, which continues to attempt to mischaracterize U.S. support for the Venezuelan people,” the agency said in a statement.
In January, USAID announced a new program to support the integration of Venezuelan refugees in Brazil. The agency has provided more than $656 million in humanitarian and development assistance to tackle the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and support the more than 4 million displaced Venezuelans.
On Wednesday, Guaidó met Trump at the White House, a gesture that was meant to silence the speculation that the president had put Venezuela policy on the back burner, a senior official told reporters.
“This meeting was a historic discussion about how we can work together with our partners in the region to achieve a democratic transition in Venezuela,” White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere said in a statement.
“President Trump underscored the United States’ commitment to end the corrupt and violent dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro. Both leaders shared the importance of securing the return of freedom for all Venezuelans that will promote and safeguard a democratic and prosperous future for the Western Hemisphere,” the statement said.
Guaidó stayed at Blair House, a residence for distinguished guests of the president.
Guaidó also received a special mention during Trump’s State of the Union and received a standing ovation in Congress, in one of the few moments of bipartisan support during the president’s speech.
The interim president began his activities in the U.S. with a rally in Miami with the Venezuelan diaspora last Saturday.
Follow Nora Gámez Torres on Twitter: @ngameztorres
This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 9:44 AM.