US won’t rule out pressuring Venezuela to curb China, Russia ties

The White House on Wednesday stopped short of denying reports that the United States has urged Venezuela to cut ties with adversaries such as China, Russia and Iran, but emphasised Washington’s determination to maintain “American dominance” in the western hemisphere and all decisions made by Caracas will be “dictated” by the US.

During a media briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt cited frequent leaks coming out of classified briefings and stated she would “not confirm or deny or get into” what senior administration officials told in “classified settings” to members of Congress.

However, she stated that the administration has made it “quite clear” to the interim authorities in Venezuela that “this is the western hemisphere and American dominance is going to continue under this president”.

“We obviously have maximum leverage over the interim authorities in Venezuela right now,” Leavitt added, announcing that all decisions made by Venezuela “are going to continue to be dictated by the United States of America”.

The White House response followed reports of a high-stakes, classified briefing on Capitol Hill led by Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio.

Leavitt simultaneously affirmed that President Trump maintains “very open, honest and good” personal relationships with both President Xi Jinping and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

South China Morning Post