Page 2 - ARUBA TODAY

A2 UP FRONT
Saturday 23 March 2019
Trump administration announces new Venezuela sanctions

By DEB RIECHMANN and promote stronger re-
Associated Press lationship with the region,”
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Holness said. “It’s absolute-
The Trump administration ly important that it’s not just
stepped up sanctions on talk, that there will be real
Venezuela Friday in re- investments.”
sponse to the kidnapping “We’re very happy with
of a top aide for an leader that message. We feel that
the U.S wants to see re- that is a message that is
place the embattled — but long-in-coming, but we’re
not yet ousted — President also satisfied that it’s not
Nicolas Maduro. just a message. Were satis-
The Treasury Department fied that there will be instru-
announcement came mental action.”
while the President Don- The Trump administration
ald Trump met with leaders considers Maduro’s gov-
from five nations in the Ca- ernment a dictatorship and
ribbean that generally sup- says he was re-elected in
port the U.S. call for an end an illegitimate election. The
to Maduro’s rule. Trump U.S. has sanctioned scores
hosted them at his Mar-a- of top Venezuelan officials
Lago club in Florida and and has blocked U.S. banks
pledged U.S. investment in from doing business with
their countries. Venezuela, putting a finan-
The new sanctions, issued cial stranglehold on the
in response to the kidnap- cash-strapped country. The
ping, specifically target From left, National Security Adviser John Bolton, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and country is in an economic
Venezuela’s national de- President Donald Trump sit together during a meeting with Caribbean leaders at Mar-A Lago, meltdown and millions of
velopment bank, BANDES, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Palm Beach, Fla. Venezuelans have fled.
and four additional subsid- Associated Press Nations in the Caribbean,
iaries that BANDES owns or ternational coalition” that legitimate interim leader munity is closely watching however, have been split
controls. is united behind Juan Guai- following a flawed ballot Maduro’s actions and will on whether to interfere in
“The regime’s continued do, Treasury Secretary Ste- that resulted in Maduro’s respond accordingly to any Venezuela.
use of kidnapping, torture ven Mnuchin said. He was re-election. that threaten the safety of For years, Venezuela has
and murder of Venezuelan referring to the opposition Earlier this week, forces af- the opposition and Interim provided a reliable supply
citizens will not be toler- leader recognized by more filiated with the Maduro President Juan Guaidó,” of oil to many Caribbean
ated by the U.S. or the in- than 50 countries as the government broke into the said Rep. Michael McCaul, nations. They purchased
homes of officials backing R-Texas. the oil under the PetroCa-
Guaido and threatened Trump hosted the leaders ribe arrangement, which
them with their lives. Guai- of Jamaica, Bahamas, Hai- gave them low-interest
do’s chief of staff, Roberto ti, Dominican Republic and credit terms, but have left
Marrero, was kidnapped. St. Lucia to show his support them indebted to Caracas.
In an op-ed published Fri- for Caribbean countries St. Lucia Prime Minister Al-
day in The Miami Herald, that back democratic tran- len Michael Chastanet said
Vice President Mike Pence sition in Venezuela. The five it’s been since the Reagan
said the kidnapping was have either denounced administration that the U.S.
an “egregious violation of Maduro or joined more has taken an interest in the
the rule of law” and was than 50 countries in recog- Caribbean and acknowl-
only the latest example of nizing Juan Guaido as the edged that Trump’s invita-
Maduro’s “brutality and rightful interim leader of the tion was likely due to their
despotism.” nation. support of the U.S. stance
“We’re not bluffing when Trump told the leaders as against Venezuela at the
we told Maduro not to the meeting kicked off that Organization of American
do stuff like this (the kid- he would be “discussing States.
napping),” John Bolton, ways that we can be ben- He also acknowledged
Trump’s national security eficial to you and you can that not all countries in the
adviser told Univision News be beneficial to us.” region agree with the U.S.
in an interview aired Friday. Jamaica Prime Minister An- call for Maduro’s ouster.
The U.S. has already sanc- drew Holness said that at “I think we all recognize
tioned scores of top Ven- their meeting with Trump there’s a problem in Ven-
ezuelan officials and has he learned that a represen- ezuela. Most people rec-
blocked U.S. banks from tative from the Overseas ognize the need for new
doing business with that Private Investment Corpo- elections,” Chastanet said,
country, imposing a finan- ration, a U.S. government adding that any disagree-
cial strangle-hold on the agency that helps Ameri- ment they have is in how
cash-strapped nation. The can businesses invest in that will play out. “The
sanctions announced Fri- emerging markets, would world remains divided on
day also came as mem- be visiting the region and that. I think there is a grow-
bers of Congress from both the five countries. ing consensus that there
parties condemned Mar- “The message from this needs to be fresh elections
rero’s arrest. meeting is that the United in Venezuela to resolve the
“The international com- States wants to encourage humanitarian crisis.”q