Trump meets with opposition Venezuela delegation at UN
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump showed his support for the Venezuelan opposition Wednesday as he met with its delegation to the U.N. General Assembly instead of the official government delegation and called for an end to the "horrible and brutal oppression" of President Nicolas Maduro.
Trump has pointedly refused to rule out a U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, but he said at the meeting on the sidelines of the annual gathering that his first objective is to help secure a peaceful political transition from Maduro to opposition leader Juan Guaido.
"We will stand with the Venezuelan people every single day until they are finally freed from this horrible and brutal oppression," Trump said. "They will be freed. It will happen."
The U.S., which has imposed punishing economic sanctions on Venezuela at a time of deep economic crisis, has joined more than 50 countries in recognizing Guaido as the interim president, arguing that Maduro's reelection last year was not legitimate.
Trump, in keeping with that theme, met with the opposition representatives, who have presented themselves as the "legitimate" delegation, though the U.N. and other nations still recognize the Maduro government and its delegation.
Trump and members of the delegation singled out Cuba for its support of the security forces and paramilitaries who support the embattled Venezuelan government. "Havana is the mastermind behind this tragedy to sustain Maduro," said Julio Borges, who leads the opposition delegation.
Neither Borges nor Trump mentioned Russia's support for Maduro, who made a surprise visit to Moscow on Wednesday. Russia has been one of Maduro's closest allies as the country has slid into economic and political turmoil, supporting his administration with generous loans.
"The situation in Venezuela is a tragedy of historic...