CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – With the clock coming to an end, U.S. President Donald Trump protected tens of thousands of Venezuelan migrants from deportation on Tuesday night, and rewarded Venezuelan exiles who they have been among their most loyal supporters and fear losing the same privileged access to the White House during the Biden administration.
Trump signed an executive order that postponed for 18 months the withdrawal of more than 145,000 Venezuelans who were at risk of being returned to their homeland devastated by the crisis. He cited the “deteriorating condition” in Venezuela that poses a threat to national security as a basis for his decision.
“The United States remains a beacon of hope and freedom for many and now Venezuelan nationals eligible in the United States will receive temporary relief from much-needed immigration,” Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said in a commendable statement the decision.
Last-minute amortization, in contrast to Trump’s immigration policies over the past four years, ended a busy last day in office that also saw Trump issue a new round of financial sanctions aimed at the alleged man of the in front of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro controls to keep espionage technology at the hands of the Venezuelan military.
But before Wednesday’s inauguration, Joe Biden focused much more attention on the election of President-elect to Secretary of State Antony Blinken than during his confirmation hearing in the United States Senate. in Washington he showed continued support for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó.
Blinken, in his first comments on Venezuela, said he would continue to recognize Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president and indicated that he had no illusions about a possible dialogue with Maduro, whom he described as a “brutal dictator.”
Still, the veteran diplomat expressed frustration over the results of the current U.S. approach, which has not shaken Maduro’s grip on power or led to free and fair elections. He said there is room to adjust sanctions and improve coordination with allied nations to restore democracy to the crisis-stricken South American nation.
“The hardest part is that because of all these efforts, which I support, we obviously haven’t gotten the results we need,” Blinken said.
The Trump administration was the first of more than 50 countries in the world to recognize Guaidó as president of Venezuela shortly after the young lawmaker rose to challenge Maduro’s government two years ago. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo spoke by telephone with Guaidó on Monday and expressed his “personal respect and gratitude” to the opposition leader for his “commitment to the cause of freedom,” the Department of State said. ‘State in a statement.
Venezuela, once a rich oil-producing nation, has fallen into an economic and political crisis in recent years that has seen a flood of more than 5 million residents flee a breakdown in public services and a lack of running water, electricity and gasoline.
Most have emigrated to other parts of Latin America. But 350,000 are believed to reside in the United States and approximately 146,000 have no legal status, according to the Center for Migration Studies in New York.
More than 700 Venezuelans have been withdrawn from the U.S. since 2018, while 11,000 more are in the process of deportation, according to Syracuse University’s TRAC immigration database.
For years, Venezuelans, with the support of the bipartisan, have called for the effect of the so-called temporary state of protection without effect, as Trump has tried to end the program for migrants from six other countries, including Haiti. , Nicaragua and El Salvador.
Trump’s order provides similar protections, including protection against deportation and the right to work, but the resistance of some Democrats still complied, wanting Biden to introduce legislation that would provide additional safeguards.
“Our community will no longer be fooled and will no longer be used for political games,” said Leopoldo Martinez, the first Venezuelan-born member of the Democratic National Committee.
In the latest round of sanctions trying to pressure Maduro, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on three people, 14 companies and six ships. All are accused of helping Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA circumvent previous U.S. sanctions aimed at preventing the president from benefiting from crude oil sales.
The sanctions target individuals and businesses linked to Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman who U.S. officials say is Maduro’s leader responsible for everything from food imports to the nation’s crude exports. Saab was arrested last year by a US order in the African nation of Cape Verde for what Maduro says was an official mission to Iran to buy supplies. He is now fighting extradition to Miami, where he faces corruption charges.
The Maduro government exploited the sanctions as another act of “imperialist aggression” aimed at destroying Venezuela’s ability to meet its own needs by selling oil after four years of attacks by the Trump administration.
The U.S. Department of Commerce on Tuesday also announced measures to prevent military intelligence from using U.S. technology in countries such as China, Cuba, Russia and Venezuela.
Such harsh measures have become an almost routine feature of the outgoing administration’s tough approach with Venezuela, which has proven popular among Latino voters in exile in Florida.
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Associated Press writer Scott Smith reported this story in Caracas and AP writer Joshua Goodman reported from Miami. AP writers Adriana Gómez Licon and Gisela Salomon in Miami contributed to this report.