the u.s. did not do that. nicolas maduro did that. one month of food today for an average of venezuelan cost the family more than 100 times the monthly minimum wage. venezuelanof hospitals lack basic medicines. more than 90% of venezuelans live below the poverty line. all of this brought to you by the socialism of nicolas maduro. completestory is not without acknowledging the role

cuba and russia have played and continue to play in undermining the democratic dreams of the venezuelan people and their welfare. first, cuba. no nation has done more to sustain the daily misery of ordinary venezuelans. no more than the communist in havana. imperialisttrue power in venezuela. provides government political cover for maduro and his henchmen so they may stay in power. his --s offered him their unwavering solidarity. cuban calls juan guaido's government a puppet government of the u.s.. yet it is cuba who is using

domestic spying techniques and mechanisms of oppression. they have wielded these against their own people for decades. militaryf the cuban and intelligence services are entrenched in the venezuelan state. cuban security forces have displaced venezuelan security forces in a clear violation of venezuelan sovereignty. here, maduro has no venezuelans around him and many of his personal security and advisors are acting not at the direction of the venezuelan people or possibly the direction of maduro, but the direction of regime.n but -- cuban they provide political support to maduro and those around him. electricity, is no when there is no water, thank the hydrologist from cuba.

food, thank the cuban communist overlords. why is cuba asserting so much influence in venezuela? what is in it for them? follow the corrupt elites and ideology and the money. revolutionaryst share a natural affinity with maduro socialist. the rule of law and free and fair elections. the same economic theories that have decimated the cuban economy since 1959 have now turned venezuelans economy, one of the richest in latin america, into a case of decline. both of these countries routinely violate the basic human rights of their people. share anations also deeply corrupt ruling class. maduro learned from the castro's

that the best way to stay in power is to buy out the generals. the only way to avoid poverty is to feed off the regime and stay in their good graces. there is an economic relationship between cuba and venezuela as well. the maduro regime sends up to 50,000 barrels of oil to cuba per day and cuba needs this to prop up their socialist economy. needs cuban expertise and oppression to stay in power. it is a match made in hell. russia has created this crisis as well. for their own reasons they are supporting the venezuelans people legitimate democratic hopes and dreams. havana, continues to provide political cover to the maduro regime, pressuring countries to disregard juan guaido. it is russia that vetoed the

u.s. sponsored resolution on fairbury 28th. bun security council resolution was delivery of assistant to those in need in support of the restoration of democracy and the rule of law and venezuela. it is russia that shows rather than supporting a noble goal would instead support their own resolution that bolsters the illegitimate maduro regime. the international community sharply rebuked russia. 15. got four votes at the the humanitarian efforts were really an attempted border crossing for cargo. the world knows what was really going on that day. russiahas also used today and sputnik to divert attention from the humanitarian

effort. russia has spent an enormous amount of money and venezuela. their investments are more than $17 billion. russian companies continue to to to help the maduro regime further squander the avocet's of the event -- assets of the venezuelan people. russia continues to purchase crude oil cargoes in defiance of u.s. sanctions. and the ceo continues to throw a lifeline to the regime. he was ordered to sell even more oil to the maduro regime. he was once known as the crown jewel of the venezuelan people and is now a personal atm for the maduro regime and russian

oligarchs. provided the drive as maduro regimes with large and forms of arms lethal assistance. the kremlin is standing with their cronies against the will of the people of a sovereign nation to protect a moscow friendly regime. it is worth taking a moment to compare these actions with what the u.s. has done. the u.s. has recognized juan guaido as the legitimate president of venezuela and used diplomacy to convince other countries to do the same. today over 50 nations have made this proper choice and formally -- formally recognized one cueto. -- juan guaido.

theave made sure that resources go to the people instead of lining the pocket of the maduro mafia. visas have been revoked. today we sanctioned a moscow-based bank that is helping perpetuate the misery and venezuela. maduroions that support are carrying out the interventionism of which they accuse others. today the u.s. is drawing a .lear line there is no ambiguity without truth. thank you.

i will take some questions. >> you mentioned russia. four out of 15 vote. others will point out you only guaido got 54 countries out of 195 in the general assembly. satisfied with the momentum behind juan guaido and his leadership? moneyu said to follow the and then mentioned oil. peoplere are a lot of who say this is the u.s. trying to get venezuela's oil.

so is this about the u.s. getting venezuela's oil? did the u.s. have anything to do with the power outage? to the powerct outages, those are a direct years of years and neglect in the venezuelan energy system. the experts have seen this. the system has had problems for a long time. their ability to get it back online has always proven difficult and in the last few years it has gotten worse. blackouts have taken place. my guess is they will continue to take place. was oil.d question we are trying to get the oil for the venezuelan people. we are attempting to restore basic transparency and democracy and rule of law.

this is for the venezuelan people. couldalways wish things go faster but i am confident that the tide is moving in the direction of the venezuelan people and will continue to do so. it does not take much to see what is going on. the circle is tightening. the humanitarian crisis is increasing by the hour. i talked with our senior person on the ground and venezuelan last night. you can see the increasing pain and suffering. it is democracy and the rule of juan guaido offers the best opportunity for the venezuelan people to turn the tide and regain the greatness of venezuela. u.s. helproup and the

to aim -- aim to help them achieve that. reporter: your support of juan guaido is early and i'm wondering if you could talk to us a little about what you have been doing since that time. are you providing him with personal protection? i know mr. bolton issued a warning when weider went back into venezuela about his -- when juan guaido went back into venezuela about his personal safety. i am wondering if you were could beeps that viewed as ways of consolidating his power. not going to talk about particular actions we may or may not be taken with respect to security situation for leadership in venezuela, just

like i do not talk about the security situation for any leader in the world. as for actions we have taken to guaido i.0 -- juan think we have been very transparent. we hope to get to the right place. the american people have been generous. if you look at our budget, we have asked for up to $500 million to help venezuela. we need a very significant level of american resources. this will not be in america alone opposition to restore the economy of venezuela. we have done our best to help juan guaido build his team and our team has provided the same

services we would provide in any country to help governments be successful. we will continue to do that as long as our team is in venezuela. reporter: which other countries in the world are hiding venezuelan assets? did the indian foreign secretary agree to stop buying oil from maduro's government? them andyou asking of have a agreed? >> we are asking the same thing of india as every country. do not be the economic lifeline for the maduro regime. i will not characterize the private conversation but i am confident. andy has been incredibly supportive of our efforts on

am confident they understand the threat to the venezuelan people. of which countries are hiding asset, i assure you those countries will know when i am not going to share it with you today. today, if i mentioned it who knows how many will end up inside of russia. we have a handful of countries that are providing aid and comfort to the maduro regime at enormous expense to the people of venezuela and we want to make the the resources venezuelan people will need, we want to make sure those rent -- those resources are available for them and not shipped off to russia or cuba or iran. and you. -- thank you.

announcer: watch american history tv live on saturday starting at 9:00 eastern from ford's theater in washington dc. the state long gathering hosted by the abraham lincoln institute and the ford theater society brings together lincoln scholars to highlight his life, career, and legacy. they will discuss the environment, lincoln's sense of humor, and how he will be remembered in america. his relationship with abolitionist frederick douglass, and lincoln on president-elect. watch american history tv this weekend on c-span3. here on c-span we will show you a recent campaign stop in new hampshire for bernie sanders.

that is followed by a look at president trump's 2020 budget request with acting white house director and john sullivan. real -- a resolution supporting the public disclosure of robert mueller's report on russian interference in the u.s. election. senator bernie sanders was in new hampshire this past weekend for his first visit to the state since announcing his 2020 candidacy for president. at this rally in concord, he spoke about universal health care, tax policy, and climate change among other topics. ♪