U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on July 15 that international pressure on the Nicolás Maduro regime “must continue until the Venezuelan people can reclaim their democracy.”
Pompeo made this statement during a press conference at the U.S. Department of State.
“Regarding Venezuela, the U.N. has found yet more harrowing evidence of gross human rights violations by the illegitimate Maduro regime, citing more than 1,300 extrajudicial executions for political reasons in 2020 alone. International pressure on Maduro must continue until the Venezuelan people can reclaim their democracy,” Pompeo said.
Pompeo’s statements came on the same day that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, led by Michelle Bachelet, reported that criminal organizations that exploit, beat, and even murder workers are controlling most gold, diamond, and bauxite mines in the Orinoco Mining Arc region of Venezuela.
Bachelet’s office said that the military and security forces of Venezuela’s disputed government are not preventing these crimes and have participated in acts of violence against miners. It also urged Maduro to “take immediate action” to stop labor and sexual exploitation, child labor, and human trafficking crimes described in the report published on July 15.