"Secretary Pompeo will … make a brief stop in Cucuta, Colombia, on 14 April to visit entities supporting Venezuelan refugees and assess the challenges due to the closed border", the release said on Monday.
Pompeo said on Friday that he intends to visit Latin America soon to discuss the Venezuelan crisis with US allies in the region. When asked if he will go to Venezuela, Pompeo said, "I am going to head to the region before too long. I am going to go visit some of the great partners and allies that the State Department has built out who each is determined as we are to restore democracy there".
Last month, Pompeo announced that all US diplomatic staff had left Venezuela and would continue to carry out their missions from other locations. US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliot Abrams has said that immigrant visas for Venezuelans would be processed in Bogota, Colombia, while applications for non-immigrant US visas could be submitted to any consular facility around the world.
READ MORE: Spain Says International Contact Group on Venezuela Works 'Too Slowly'
The Venezuelan migration crisis has been underway for months against the backdrop of an acute economic crisis and political turmoil. According to the UN Migration Agency (IOM), as of February, around 3.4 million refugees and migrants from Venezuela live abroad, including 2.7 million people residing in other Latin American and Caribbean countries.
Guaido immediately received support from the United States, which has also denounced Maduro's re-election, along with a number of other nations. China, Cuba, Russia and a number of other countries have endorsed the constitutionally elected Maduro as Venezuela's only legitimate president.
READ MORE: Сuban President Slams New US Sanctions on Venezuela as 'Act of Interference'
