US's Pence to visit Colombia in support of Guaido

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will travel to Colombia next week to voice "unwavering support" for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, the White House said Thursday.

Pence will arrive Feb. 25, and will deliver remarks to the Lima Group -- a dozen Latin American nations focused on finding a resolution to Venezuela's long-standing crisis.

Pence will continue to insist in his remarks to the group it is time for President Nicolas Maduro to cede power to Guaido who declared himself interim president last month, and will meet with Venezuelan families who fled the country, according to the White House.

"Juan Guaido is the only legitimate leader of Venezuela, and it’s time for Nicolas Maduro to go. The United States is proud to join the Lima Group and other global partners to marshal our resources, provide much needed humanitarian relief, and stand together with the people of Venezuela until democracy and freedom are fully restored,” Pence spokeswoman Alyssa Farah said in a statement.

The vice president will also meet Colombian President Ivan Duque while he is in the country.

The U.S. was the first country to recognize Guaido as Venezuela's rightful leader, and was followed by dozens of other nations including most of Latin America, and Canada.

Japan was the latest country to recognize Guaido on Tuesday.

The U.S. has led an international campaign to apply economic and diplomatic pressure on Maduro, including sanctioning the country's state-owned oil company, Petroleos De Venezuela S.A., or PDVSA, and a joint venture with its Nicaraguan counterpart.

Maduro insists he is the victim of a U.S.-orchestrated coup amid a spiraling economic and humanitarian crisis in the country.

Venezuela is experiencing widespread shortages of food and medicine, and has the highest inflation rates in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund.