Mike Pompeo slams Cuba, Venezuela for ‘hijacking’ protests

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday called out the leftist governments of Venezuela and Cuba for attempting to interfere in democratic institutions across Latin America as demonstrations denouncing economic and political instability rocked countries across South America,

“We in the Trump administration will continue to support countries trying to prevent Cuba and Venezuela from hijacking those protests,” Mr. Pompeo said in a speech at the University of Louisville.

He promised the U.S. will work with “legitimate [governments] to prevent protests from morphing into riots and violence that don’t reflect the democratic will of the people.”

Demonstrations in Chile and Ecuador erupted over the last several months as protestors forced their governments to update some economic policies and reduce subsidies.

Protesters who also have taken to the streets in Colombia in recent weeks have reported that they were “motivated” by the demonstrations and change in their neighbor country Ecuador as well as Chile.

Mr. Pompeo, who has ramped up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down, doubled down on repeated allegations that the country has contributed to the spreading unrest in the region.

In his speech, Mr. Pompeo declared that the “end will come for Maduro. … We just don’t know what day.”