Citing the US desire to increase pressure “against the Venezuelan leadership folks,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says that in the days to come, the administration will announce a series of actions against Venezuela.
Pompeo declined to offer any specifics, which is probably going to lead to speculation of something major coming, since recent reports of US policy toward Venezuela has been uniformly hostile.
President Trump threatened to attack Venezuela back in August of 2017, and this summer reports are that he’d repeatedly had to be talked out of such attacks. Early this month, the administration was confirmed to be engaging in secret coup talks with Venezuelan rebels.
None of this is to say that the new actions are liable to be anything so grand. The fact that the US has been known to be talking about such measures, however, is likely to add to serious concerns about US intentions ahead of any announcements.
