Senators introduce bill to send $400 million in aid to Venezuela, strengthen sanctions
Source: CBS News
Senators introduce bill to send $400 million in aid to Venezuela, strengthen sanctions
BY CAMILO MONTOYA-GALVEZ
APRIL 3, 2019 / 2:52 PM / CBS NEWS
Washington A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Wednesday to authorize $400 million in humanitarian aid to crisis-stricken Venezuela and intensify the U.S. campaign to isolate the increasingly authoritarian government of Nicolás Maduro, who has held on to power despite international pressure for him to step down.
The
bill, spearheaded by Senate Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Sen. Bob Menendez, also directs the State Department to work with European governments to replicate U.S. efforts and issue their own sanctions. The New Jersey Democrat, a longtime leader of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America, said "internationalizing" sanctions would increase pressure on the Maduro regime and its chief allies around the world.
"That is something that would be incredibly powerful, knowing that the sanctions that would levied are not just by the United States against the Maduro regime, but internationally," Menendez told CBS News during a conference call with reporters Wednesday. "That's something that could significantly change the dynamics."
"It sends Maduro a message, as well as Russia and China that are helping to prop up Maduro," he added, referring to the Chinese government's investments in Venezuela and Moscow's military and political support for the South American country's socialist government.
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