US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday expressed hope that India will support the American efforts in Venezuela by not purchasing oil from the "authoritarian" Maduro regime.
The issue was discussed in a meeting with the visiting Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, Pompeo told reporters at a news conference here, without providing insight into it.
"We are asking the same thing of India as we are of every country: Do not be the economic lifeline for the Maduro regime. So we talked about (Venezuela) I certainly won't characterize the conversations; they're private conversations," Pompeo said in response to a question.
"In the same way that India has been incredibly supportive of our efforts in Iran, I'm confident that they too understand the real threat to the Venezuelan people. We had a good conversation around that," Pompeo said.
At a news conference, Pompeo said the nations that support Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro are, by the nature of this "illegitimate" regime, carrying out the very foreign interventionism of which they accuse others.
"Today, the United States is drawing a clear line between those who aid the forces of repression and those who give life to the Venezuelan people's democratic dreams. There is no ambiguity here about the truth," he said.
Similar kind of warning to other nations was issued by US National Security Adviser John Bolton.
"The United States will not stand idly by while foreign financial institutions facilitate illegitimate transactions that benefit Maduro and his cronies, and perpetuate the corruption that has devastated Venezuela," he said.
Earlier in the day, the Treasury sanctioned a Russia-based bank attempting to circumvent US sanctions on Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA. It sanctioned Evrofinance Mosnarbank, a Moscow-based bank jointly owned by Russia and Venezuela, for being involved in facilitating illegitimate transactions that prolong Maduro's usurpation of democracy, it said.
"The illegitimate Maduro regime has profited off of the suffering of the Venezuelan people," said US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
"This action demonstrates that the United States will take action against foreign financial institutions that sustain the illegitimate Maduro regime and contribute to the economic collapse and humanitarian crisis plaguing the people of Venezuela," he said.
In another tweet, Bolton asked international banks not to have relationship with the maduro regime.
"Bankers: Do not help Maduro and his accomplices steal the assets of the Venezuelan people. The United States is watching. The world is watching. The Venezuelan people are watching," he said.
Maduro is facing a challenge from opposition leader Juan Guaido who declared himself acting president in January.
The US views Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate leader and has imposed sanctions on the country's oil sector besides taking other actions targeting top government officials.
(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
Get Latest Business News, Stock Market Updates and Videos; Check your tax outgo through Income Tax Calculator and save money through our Personal Finance coverage. Check Business Breaking News Live on Zee Business Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe on YouTube.
RECOMMENDED STORIES
![https://www.zeebiz.com/personal-finance/photo-gallery-sip-swp-monthly-pension-income-retirement-corpus-planning-calculator-inr-rs-20000-monthly-investment-for-15-years-inr-99000-monthly-return-for-42-years-313283](https://cdn.zeebiz.com/sites/default/files/styles/zeebiz_700x394/public/2024/09/06/316973-rupee-pixabay-take-1.jpg?itok=02-hJh59)
SIP+SWP: Rs 20,000 monthly SIP for 16 years to get Rs 99,000 monthly income for 42 years; how is it possible?
![https://www.zeebiz.com/market-news/news-bajaj-finserv-rvnl-borosil-renewables-carysil-railtel-corporation-stocks-to-buy-hdfc-securities-recommendation-picks-target-stop-loss-bse-nse-313386](https://cdn.zeebiz.com/sites/default/files/styles/zeebiz_700x394/public/2024/09/06/317091-26.jpg?itok=gE1cWt7z)
RVNL, Bajaj Finserv and 5 more: Brokerage recommends buying these 7 stocks for up to 3 months | Check target, stop loss
![https://www.zeebiz.com/personal-finance/photo-gallery-nps-vs-ups-vs-ops-monthly-pension-income-retirement-corpus-calculator-what-will-be-your-pension-on-inr-rs-10000-contribution-for-35-years-expert-calculations-313361](https://cdn.zeebiz.com/sites/default/files/styles/zeebiz_700x394/public/2024/09/06/317060-rupee-pixabay-take-2.jpg?itok=cOVdof_v)
NPS vs UPS vs OPS: What will be your monthly pension if you contribute Rs 10,000 monthly for 35 years? Get expert calculations
![https://www.zeebiz.com/personal-finance/photo-gallery-top-7-etf-sip-mutual-funds-in-5-years-calculator-how-inr-rs-21000-monthly-investment-has-grown-in-nifty-sp-bse-next-50-cpse-uti-icici-pru-nippon-india-motilal-oswal-bharat-22-nift-mid-infra-313306](https://cdn.zeebiz.com/sites/default/files/styles/zeebiz_700x394/public/2024/09/06/316994-indian-currency-pixabay-take-1.jpg?itok=JURVEkst)
Top 7 ETF Mutual Funds With Highest SIP Returns in 5 Years: How Rs 21,000 monthly SIP has grown in each ETF over the years
![https://www.zeebiz.com/personal-finance/photo-gallery-sbi-senior-citizen-fd-fixed-deposit-latest-interest-rate-2024-calculator-what-be-maturity-amount-with-return-on-investments-of-inr-900000-lakh-in-1-3-5-year-guaranteed-return-scheme-retirement-planning-313221](https://cdn.zeebiz.com/sites/default/files/styles/zeebiz_700x394/public/2024/09/06/316909-note-coin-pixabay-take-1.jpg?itok=3RPKcBYE)
SBI Senior Citizen FD Rates 2024: What you can get if you invest Rs 3 lakh, Rs 5 lakh, Rs 7 lakh, and Rs 9 lakh in 1-, 3-, and 5-year FDs
08:20 AM IST