GOP Set to Use Venezuela as an Issue Against Dems in Fla.

Republicans are gearing up to use the political and economic crisis in Venezuela as an issue against Democrats in Florida, The Hill is reporting.

Republicans are already pointing out that the unrest in Venezuela should serve as a warning against Democrats pushing for universal healthcare, high taxes on the wealthy, and the Green New Deal, according to The Hill.

The website noted South Florida has been shaped by Cuban exiles who left Communist rule. It also has the largest Venezuelan population in the U.S.

"So many people here have fled socialist or really far left governments," said Nelson Diaz, the chairman of the Miami-Dade Republican Party.

"To come here and see the Democratic Party shifting and moving quickly in the direction of the governments they fled, I think it's making them realize they may be registered as Democrats, but that it's time to switch."

President Donald Trump was in Miami last month and condemned Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Trump warned "the days of socialism and communism are numbered, not only in Venezuela, but in Nicaragua and in Cuba as well."

"Socialism is about one thing only: power for the ruling class," Trump said. "The more power they get, the more they crave."

But Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., maintained both parties are standing behind opposition leader Juan Guaidó, according to a report from NBC Miami.

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