CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – At the end of the hour, US President Donald Trump protected tens of thousands of Venezuelan migrants from deportation on Tuesday night, rewarding Venezuelan exiles who were among his most loyal supporters and who are afraid to lose the same privileged access to the White House during the Biden administration.
Trump signed an executive order postponing for 18 months the removal of more than 145,000 Venezuelans who risked being sent back to their country devastated by the crisis. He cited Venezuela’s “deteriorating state”, which posed a threat to national security, as the basis for his decision.
“America remains a beacon of hope and freedom for many, and now eligible Venezuelan citizens in the United States will receive much-needed temporary immigration assistance,” Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said in a statement praising the decision. .
The last-minute fix – in stark contrast to Trump’s tough immigration policies of the past four years – ended a busy last day, which saw Trump also launch a new round of financial sanctions targeting him. on the alleged front man of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and tightens controls to keep espionage technology in the hands of the Venezuelan army.
But before Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday, much more attention was focused on electing President-elect Antony Blinken, who during his US Senate confirmation hearing in Washington showed continued support for the leader. the Venezuelan opposition Juan Guaidó.
Blinken, in his first comments on Venezuela, said he would continue to recognize Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president and said he had no illusions about a possible dialogue with Maduro, whom he called a “brutal dictator.”
However, the veteran diplomat expressed frustration with the results of the current US approach, which did not shake Maduro’s power over power and did not lead to free and fair elections. He said there was room for adjustment of sanctions and better coordination with allied nations to restore democracy to the crisis-stricken South American nation.
“The hard part is that for all these efforts, which I’m supporting, obviously we haven’t gotten the results we need,” Blinken said.
The Trump administration was the first of more than 50 countries in the world to recognize Guaidó as Venezuela’s president shortly after the young parliamentarian rose to challenge Maduro’s government two years ago. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo spoke by telephone with Guaidó on Monday, expressing “personal respect and appreciation” for the opposition leader for “his commitment to the cause of freedom,” the State Department said in a statement.
Venezuela, a once oil-rich nation, has fallen into the economic and political crisis of recent years, which has seen a flood of more than 5 million people fleeing public service shortages and shortages, including water shortages. electricity, electricity and petrol.
Most migrated to other parts of Latin America. But an estimated 350,000 live in the United States, and about 146,000 have no legal status, according to the Center for Migration Studies in New York.
More than 700 Venezuelans have been expelled from the United States since 2018, while another 11,000 are being deported, according to the TRAC immigration database at Syracuse University.
For years, Venezuelans, with bipartisan support, have called for so-called temporarily protected status without effect, as Trump has tried to end the program for migrants from six other countries, including Haiti, Nicaragua and El Salvador.
Trump’s order offers similar protections, including protection against deportation and the right to work, but has still been met with resistance from Democrats who want Biden to introduce legislation that provides additional guarantees.
“Our community will no longer be fooled and used for political games,” said Leopoldo Martinez, Venezuela’s first-born member of the Democratic National Committee.
In the latest round of sanctions trying to put pressure on Maduro, the US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on three people, 14 companies and six ships. All are accused of helping Venezuelan oil company PDVSA evade previous US sanctions aimed at stopping the president from taking advantage of crude oil sales.
The sanctions target individuals and businesses related to Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman whom US officials say is the leader for Maduro responsible for everything from importing food to exporting the nation’s crude. Saab was arrested on a US warrant last year in the African nation of Cape Verde over what Maduro says is an official mission in Iran to buy supplies. He is now fighting extradition to Miami, where he faces corruption charges.
Maduro’s government has blasted sanctions as another act of “imperialist aggression” aimed at destroying Venezuela’s ability to meet its own needs through oil sales after four years of attacks by the Trump administration.
The US Department of Commerce also announced measures on Tuesday to prevent the use of US technology by military intelligence services in countries such as China, Cuba, Russia and Venezuela.
Such rigid measures have become a near-routine feature of the foreign administration’s harsh approach to Venezuela, which has proved popular among Latino voters in exile in Florida.
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Associated Press writer Scott Smith reported the story in Caracas, and AP writer Joshua Goodman reported from Miami. AP writers Adriana Gomez Licon and Gisela Salomon from Miami contributed to this report.