U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) meets with visiting Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo at the Department of State in Washington D.C., the United States, on Feb. 5, 2019. (Xinhua/Ting Shen)
WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Tuesday that he has just met with visiting Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo at the White House to discuss issues related to the situation in Venezuela.
Bolton tweeted that he and Araujo "discussed mutual support for Venezuela's Interim President Guaido, including logistics for providing humanitarian assistance for the Venezuelan people," adding that "the United States-Brazil alliance is stronger than ever."
Also on Tuesday, the U.S. State Department tweeted that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also met with Araujo, without giving further details about the meeting.
A separate tweet of the Brazilian embassy in the United States posted also on Tuesday read that Araujo, who is on an official visit to the U.S. capital from Tuesday to Thursday, has also met with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to "discuss increasing trade between the two countries."
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Jan. 23 that the United States had recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the nation's "interim president," a move that came after Nicolas Maduro was inaugurated as president of the Latin American country earlier that month.
In response, Maduro announced he was severing "diplomatic and political" ties with the United States, commanding all the U.S. diplomatic and consular personnel to leave the country in 72 hours and accusing Washington of orchestrating "an operation to impose, through a coup d'etat, a puppet regime in Venezuela."
Brazil recognized 35-year-old Guaido, head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, as President-in-Charge of Venezuela.
For years, the United States has been implementing diplomatic pressure and economic sanctions against Venezuela. Right before Maduro's inauguration on Jan. 10, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on seven Venezuelan individuals and 23 entities, accusing them of involvement in a corruption scheme.
