Vice President Mike Pence pressed Latin American allies Monday to isolate Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro financially, saying “it’s time to do more” by freezing assets tied to the socialist leader and transferring his foreign holdings to the ownership of U.S.-backed interim President Juan Guaido.
Speaking in Colombia, Mr. Pence said the U.S. will take the lead by imposing sanctions on three border-state governors implicated in violent weekend clashes near Colombia over the weekend. The chaos left four people dead and resulted in trucks full of food and medical supplies being set ablaze.
The White House said the governors are staunch allies of Mr. Maduro who have supported protests against Mr. Guaido — the opposition National Assembly leader whom the U.S. and countries in the region call Venezuela’s rightful leader — and his supporters.
President Trump also plans to order new sanctions on Venezuela’s shadowy financial networks to cut off Mr. Maduro. And while he did not signal a military role for the U.S., Mr. Pence did not rule it out, saying all options remain on the table.
“It’s time to do more,” Mr. Pence told the Lima Group, a coalition of Western Hemisphere nations seeking a solution to Venezuela’s economic and humanitarian plight. “Many of your countries have pledged to crack down on the regime’s money-laundering and other corrupt activities — and to cut off the worst offenders from the financial system completely. As the people of Venezuela take to the streets to reclaim their liberty, it’s time to make good on those promises.”
Mr. Pence also called out Mexico, Uruguay and eastern Caribbean states for their lack of participation in the fight.
“We believe there can be no bystanders,” he said.
Many of the countries of the two-year-old Lima Group, which includes Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Colombia, have actually been at times ahead of Washington in recognizing Mr. Guaido’s cause and demanding Mr. Maduro step down.
Mr. Pence jetted to Bogota to try and reassure Latin American allies after the weekend violence forced them to figure out a Plan B for dealing with the crisis.
Mr. Maduro, who shows no signs of stepping aside and has seen the Venezuelan military stand by him so far, had set up roadblocks to block aid through Colombia border towns, denouncing it is a precursor to U.S. intervention in his country.
Dan Fisk, chief operations officer for the International Republican Institute — a nonprofit that promotes democracy worldwide — said the decision to ratchet up economic pressure on Mr. Maduro was notable because it shows the administration is willing to do more than talk tough.
“Today’s announcement of additional targeted sanctions bolsters this rhetorical support by taking action against Maduro’s allies,” he said.
Mr. Pence said moving forward, the U.S. will back Mr. Guaido “100 percent” until Venezuela’s “libertad” is restored by shoving aside Mr. Maduro, who has been accused of leading his country into financial and humanitarian ruin.
“I made it clear to President Guaido we’re going to continue to press on. We’re going to continue to call allies join with us. We’re going to continue to isolate the Maduro economically and diplomatically until democracy is restored,” Mr. Pence told reporters.
Asked if there were any red lines that would trigger a heavier response, Mr. Pence said it would be up to Mr. Trump to determine that with U.S. allies.
Mr. Guaido, who attended the summit, thanked the assembled dignitaries and predicted Mr. Maduro could not hold out long.
“The reality is we have a regime that is against its people,” he said.
After their speeches, the two leaders then met with about three dozen families who had fled from Venezuela. Some of them became emotional and hugged the men.
“We’re with you,” Mr. Pence told one crying man, gripping his hand with both of his own.
Also Monday, the administration pledged nearly $56 million in extra aid to support nearly 3.4 million Venezuelans who’ve fled the country because of economic hardship and political repression in recent years under Mr. Maduro.
This is on top of U.S. aid that is sitting along the Colombian and Brazilian borders, bringing total U.S. assistance to Venezuela since fiscal 2017 to $195 million — $152 million in humanitarian aid and about $43 million in development or economic assistance.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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