When asked by reporters on Thursday whether he was considering a blockade or a quarantine of Venezuela, US President Donald Trump said: "Yes, I am".
Venezuela has been suffering a humanitarian and political crisis that intensified in January when US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself the country’s interim president after disputing incumbent President Nicolas Maduro's re-election.
The United States and several other countries recognized Guaido's claim. However, Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia, Turkey and a number of other countries have said that they only recognize the constitutionally-elected Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela.
Maduro has called Guaido a puppet of the United States and accused Washington of trying to orchestrate a coup to take over the country’s vast petrochemical resources.
Caracas and the Venezuelan opposition have been engaged in talks since May mediated by the Norwegian government. Earlier this month, a delegation of the Venezuelan government and representatives of the opposition-held a three-day round of Norway-mediated talks in Barbados in efforts to resolve the ongoing crisis in the country.
