Venezuelan president still in power, despite months of US pressure

In the heart of Florida’s Venezuelan community, the state’s two U.S. senators joined President Donald Trump in calling for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to step down. That was February. Now, five months later, Maduro remains.

“He’s as isolated as he’s ever been, he’s got internal fractures that are real,” said Florida Senator Marco Rubio in an interview with Eyewitness News. “Maduro has less control over that regime today than he did six months ago, without a doubt.”

For more than a year Rubio, Florida’s senior senator, has been leading the push to remove Maduro and allow Venezuela to hold free and fair elections. In late April, it looked as if U.S.-led international pressure had worked, when opposition leader Juan Guaidó -- who has been recognized by the U.S. and other countries as Venezuela’s rightful interim leader -- and a group of military leaders called on Venezuelans to reclaim their democracy. But as the hours dragged on, it became clear the effort had fallen short, and Maduro remained in power.

While Maduro still leads the government, his power has been diminished and he has begun talks with opposition leaders. The talks have been going on in Barbados, with Norway serving as mediator.

“The regime is not in Barbados negotiating without U.S. sanctions, there is no way they are there, it is the first thing they bring up and the last thing raise at those negotiations,” said Rubio. “Europe has told Maduro, if you don’t get this straightened out, we are going to impose sanctions on you as well.”

But Maduro is not without his allies. Cuba and Russia have remained staunch supporters of Maduro, complicating matters for the U.S. as it works to remove Maduro from power.

“Cuba is at the center of this problem as well,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in an interview with Eyewitness News. “Several thousand Cuban intelligence officials, military officials, are propping up the Maduro regime.”

For Pompeo, who just returned from a trip to central and South America, the situation in Venezuela poses a risk to stability in the hemisphere.

Since 2018, Venezuela’s economy has been in free fall amid hyperinflation and the mass exodus of millions of Venezuelans.