Standing next to Fabiana Rosales de Guaido, the vice president Mike Pence called Russian aid to the Maduro regime an “unwelcome provacation” and called on the country to end its support.
More from Pence:
“It is extraordinary to see what Fabiana and her courageous husband have done for freedom in Venezuela.”
Pence called the country “in crisis” with 9 in 10 Venezuelans living in poverty. He called Maduro “a dictator with no legitimate claim to power.”
“Nicolas Maduro must go,” he said.
“Our message is we’re with you and the United States is going to continue to stand with you.”
Through a translator, the first lady talked about children dying in hospitals and how the Maduro government “is trying to break our morale.”
“We will bring hope to our people,” she said. “What we want to do is help mothers. We want children to go to school.”
Along the conference table, the Americans sat on one side and the Venezuelans on the other side. John Bolton and Keith Kellogg, assistant to the president and the VP’s national security adviser, flanked Pence. Several other aides, whose names I could not ascertain from my vantage point, were there as well.
Across was the first lady and her aides, including Carlos Vecchio, Venezuelan ambassador to the U.S.