The Trump administration’s more hawkish approach to Venezuela is due in large part because of the role Florida will play in the 2020 presidential election, Latin America expert Lindsay Singleton told Hill.TV on Thursday.
“Look no further than the Florida vote,” said Singleton, a senior vice president at Rokk Solutions, during an interview on “Rising.”
“You have a large Cuban population in Florida, which has lived a lived a similar situation and left Cuba for similar reasons. With the influx of Venezuelan émigrés to Florida now, you also additionally have their vote and their voice on the issue,” she added. “They are a very vocal community and a swing state.”
President Trump signed an executive order Monday expanding sanctions against Venezuela into a full economic embargo amid “continued usurpation of power by the illegitimate [President] Nicolas Maduro regime” and human rights abuses.
The order freezes all Venezuelan government assets in the U.S., a designation that puts the country on a short list of adversaries such as Cuba and North Korea.
National security adviser John Bolton on Tuesday warned of retaliatory measures for any foreign governments or companies that do business with Maduro’s government.
Trump’s order comes amid growing tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela.
In January, the U.S. formally recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president. More than 50 other countries, including Canada and Brazil, also recognized Guaidó.
But despite U.S. backing, the opposition has not been able to oust Maduro, who has refused to step down after allegations that his recent bid for reelection was invalid.
—Tess Bonn
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