Pompeo to Greta: Venezuela's Maduro Has to Go

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says Socialist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has to go, and is urging the people of Venezuela to "restore democracy to the country" during an interview with Greta Van Susteren on "Voice of America."

"We are searching for a solution which will deliver democracy to Venezuela. It's the Maduro regime that has inflicted this set of horrible living conditions on the people of Venezuela and it will ultimately be on the people of Venezuela to fix it," Pompeo said during an interview that aired Friday and took place in Mexico. 

Pompeo was in Mexico to ask for help on the migration "crisis."

Part of his visit was to "urge the countries of the OAS [Organization of American States] and of the region to ensure we have a coordinated set of policies, a common understanding. ... to put pressure on the Maduro regime and to try and create an opportunity for those in Venezuela who want the restoration of democracy."

The OAS has 21 members, including almost all of the independent states of the Western Hemisphere.

Almost 2 million Venezuelans have fled the ailing oil-rich nation since 2015, driven out by brutal food and medicine shortages, hyperinflation, and violent crime.

Washington has imposed sanctions on Venezuela, denouncing Maduro as a dictator who has quashed human rights and triggered an economic meltdown.

On whether the U.S. would issue additional sanctions, Pompeo said he was "confident we can find other places where we think we can exert pressure in a way that will convince Maduro that this isn’t going to work, he’s not going to be able to retain power forever."

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