Vice President Mike Pence's disdain for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his Socialist Party is no secret. But on Wednesday, he let a prominent Venezuelan official know that directly.
While addressing the United Nations Security Council in New York, Pence looked directly at Venezuela's U.N. Ambassador Samuel Moncada and essentially told him to take a hike.
Moncada wouldn't hear of it, though, shaking his head defiantly while Pence continued to speak.
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The vice president urged the Security Council to help remove Maduro from power and recognize opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the official president of Venezuela. The United States and a number of European countries have already recognized Guaidó as interim president.
"Now it's time for the United Nations to act, and for the world to stand with the people of Venezuela as they march for freedom," Pence said. He also announced the United States will allocate an extra $61 million in humanitarian aid to Venezuela. The country is plagued by years of hyperinflation, food and medicine shortages, and numerous power outages, which a significant portion of the population blames on the Maduro regime.