Pompeo in Peru to maintain regional pressure on Venezuela's Maduro

World
Europe

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo landed in Peru on Saturday on the third-leg of a four-nation tour of Latin American allies focusing heavily on issues including Venezuela.

Pompeo is scheduled to have talks with President Martin Vizcarra and Foreign Minister Nestor Popolizio later Saturday before attending a dinner for business leaders.

He is expected to pay tribute to Peru's welcome for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan refugees and Vizcarra's fight against corruption, which has embroiled the previous four Peruvian presidents.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is welcomed by Peruvian Foreign Minister Nestor Popolizio, ahead of a private meeting at the Foreign Ministry building in Lima, Peru, April 13, 2019. /Reuters Photo

Earlier Pompeo became the first US secretary of state to visit Paraguay since 1965.

The top US diplomat arrived in Asuncion late Friday after talks with Chile's President Sebastian Pinera in Santiago.

The highlight of Pompeo's trip will be a brief visit Sunday to the Colombian city of Cucuta on the Venezuelan border, where he will meet refugees.

All four countries on his itinerary are led by right-wing or center-right leaders favorable to Washington's uncompromising approach to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

In Asuncion, Pompeo praised Paraguay's support for US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido in Venezuela, and its role in the Lima Group of mostly Latin American nations seeking a solution to the Venezuela crisis.

Militia members shout slogans during a ceremony to mark the 17th anniversary of the return to power of Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez after a coup attempt and the National Militia Day in Caracas, Venezuela, April 13, 2019. /Reuters Photo

Foreign Minister Luis Castiglioni stressed Paraguay's alignment with the U.S. on Venezuela.

Asked by a U.S. journalist if Paraguay would back a military intervention in Venezuela, he said: "We are convinced that all the diplomatic efforts that are being made to isolate this regime will have results in a short time."

Maduro has accused Washington of orchestrating a coup d'etat in order to install a puppet regime in Venezuela.

On Saturday, the Venezuelan president ordered an expansion of civilian militia by nearly one million members from the current two million.

Maduro has encouraged them to become involved in agricultural production.

"With your rifles on your shoulders, be ready to defend the fatherland and dig the furrow to plant the seeds to produce food for the community, for the people," he told thousands of militia members gathered in the capital Caracas.

Source(s): AFP