Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lashed back at Rep. Ilhan Omar for blaming the US for the violence in Venezuela – calling her comments “ignorant” and “disgusting.”
The Minnesota Democrat claimed that the US created “the devastation” in the South American nation through the use of sanctions and the pursuit of “regime change” amid unrest over a contested election between socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó.
“So, the nicest thing I can say is it is unbelievable ignorance. It’s just factually wrong,” Pompeo said on “The Ingraham Angle,” according to Fox News.
The top US diplomat blamed Venezuela’s problems on socialism.
“The problems in Venezuela have been years in the making. It’s been a socialist regime, first with [Hugo] Chavez, now with Maduro. The destruction of a wealthy nation. A nation with more oil reserves than any other country in the world,” he said.
In blasting Omar, Pompeo brought up that she sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“For a member of Congress who, frankly, one who sits on an important national committee, making a statement blaming America first in this way, it’s not only ignorant, it’s disgusting,” he said.
The freshman Democratic congresswoman has criticized America’s role in Venezuela.
“A lot of the policies that we have put in place has kind of helped lead the devastation in Venezuela and we have sort of set the stage for where we are arriving today,” Omar told “Democracy Now!”
“This particular bullying and the use of sanctions to eventually intervene and make regime change really does not help the people of countries like Venezuela and it certainly does not help and is not in the interest of the United States.”
From New York Post
