UNITED NATIONS _ Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday sought to ratchet up international pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, chastising the United Nations Security Council for being slow to act against that government as a humanitarian crisis unfolds on Maduro's watch.
Pence said that America is preparing a new resolution recognizing the legitimacy of Juan Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela, and he urged the U.N. Security Council to pass it.
"Up to this point, while other international bodies have acted, the United Nations and this security council have refused to act," Pence said, seated in the Security Council chamber. "But now that nations across this hemisphere have spoken, the time has come for the United Nations to recognize interim president Juan Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela and seat his representative in this body."
