TEHRAN, Apr 04 - The United States administration and Congress are working to increase pressure on the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by introducing new sanctions and enticing Venezuelan officials to defect to an opposition figure.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -Larry Kudlow, the top White House economic adviser, claimed in a press conference on Wednesday that the US would pump dollars into the Venezuelan economy once it “gets rid of” Maduro.
Kudlow said Washington was already working with banks and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a plan to improve Venezuela’s economy.
“We call it Day Two. It would be a rescue plan, it would be a restructuring plan, it would be a plan to put cash into the country,” he said at the briefing, which was arranged by The Christian Science Monitor weekly.
“The timeline is to get rid of Maduro. I have no idea when that is going to be,” added Kudlow, who is director of the US National Economic Council.
He said that once Maduro is gone, Washington would provide Venezuela with immediate economic assistance, beginning with pushing the US currency in to reignite economic activity, moving it via “banks, iPhones, and apps.”
“The cash will not be bolivars. It will be dollars, at least at the beginning. There is no demand for bolivars. Dollars are the answer,” Kudlow claimed.
Late last month, Russia’s sole state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said that it had opened a training center for military helicopters in Venezuela.
Russia and China — like many other countries — back the elected government of Maduro, who has called Guaido a “puppet” of Washington.
Russia, a close ally of Venezuela, vocally opposes US measures against Venezuela and accuses Washington of attempting to organize a coup there in violation of the United Nations Charter.
US extends ban on lawsuits against foreign firms in Cuba
Also on Wednesday, Pompeo announced that the White House had extended by two weeks a ban on US lawsuits against foreign firms conducting business in Cuba, without giving a reason for the move.
“Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo announced his decision to continue for two weeks, from April 18 through May 1, 2019, the current suspension with an exception of the right to bring an action under Title III of the 1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act,” said State Department spokesman Robert Palladino.
The US move seems to be aimed at punishing Havana over its full support for Maduro and not following Washington’s suit in recognizing Guaido’s self-proclamation.
Venezuelan meets with Hezbollah leader
Separately, Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, who is on a tour of the Middle East, met with the leader of the Lebanese resistance movement of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, on Wednesday night.
Earlier in Lebanon, Arreaza had met with Lebanese President Michel Aoun and Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil.
Arreaza later flew to Syria, where he met with his Syrian counterpart, Walid al-Muallem, in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Thursday morning. Arreaza plans to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad later in the day.
Source: Press TV
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