Trump administration slams Venezuela's election as a "sham"
The Trump administration on Monday dismissed Venezuela's presidential election as a "sham," vowing to take quick action to ramp up economic and diplomatic pressure on President Nicolas Maduro's beleaguered government.
As world leaders rushed to condemn the election, Vice President Mike Pence asserted that it had been "neither free nor fair." He called it a "fake process" whose result was illegitimate, calling the move to hold the election "a further blow to the proud democratic tradition of Venezuela."
"America stands against dictatorship and with the people of Venezuela," Pence said.
He insisted that Maduro allow humanitarian aid into the country, where widespread food shortages and hyperinflation have helped fuel the social crisis and opposition to Maduro's government.
