Increased pressure on Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro's regime is the best way to ensure a peaceful transition of power for government opponents and opposition leader Juan Guaido, National Security Adviser John Bolton said Thursday.
"The Maduro regime has been ripping off the Venezuelan people since it has been in power, going back to when Hugo Chavez was there," Bolton told Fox News' "Fox and Friends."
"They have plundered the state oil company. They are engaged in illegal drug trafficking. They are moving resources out of the country."
Earlier this month, the United States imposed new sanctions on six Venezuelan security officials and revoked the visas of dozens of associates and their families with ties to Maduro. The White House is also threatening sanctions on foreign banks doing business with the Maduro regime.
Guaido has been recognized by the United States and most democracies as the nation's legitimate president.
Bolton also Thursday commented on the release of Danny Burch, the American who had been held hostage in Yemen for 18 months. Trump met with Burch on Wednesday, and Bolton said it was a "very emotional moment.
"This is the 20th hostage that President Trump has been able to get out of captivity without ever paying anything, unlike the Obama administration paying to get some of the Iranian hostages released," said Bolton.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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