U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a stern warning to members of Venezuela’s military who continue to help President Nicolas Maduro to stay in power.

Trump said they are risking their future and their lives, urging them to allow humanitarian aid into the country.

Speaking to a cheering crowd mostly of Venezuelan and Cuban immigrants, Trump held out an offer to members of Venezuela’s military and its leadership “to help forge a safe and prosperous future for all of the people of Venezuela” but warned that those who continue to support Maduro will be given no quarter.

“If you choose this path, you will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out,” Trump said. “You will lose everything.”

President Trump said he wants a peaceful transition of power in Venezuela but that all options remain open. </s> At a campaign-style speech in Miami on Monday, President Trump said the Venezuelan military should not interfere with humanitarian aid coming into the country, or resort to violence, as the U.S. and other nations throw their support behind parliamentary leader Juan Guaidó as interim president over the current leader, socialist Nicolas Maduro.

Trump cautioned that time is running out for Maduro and that those who have been slow to embrace the opposition leader, whom the U.S. recognized as that nation's legitimate president last month, are confronted with a perilous choice as the world watches.

Trump specifically addressed the military, saying that backing Guaidó would lead to "a safe and prosperous future for all of the people of Venezuela." But continuing to back Maduro, whom Trump called a "Cuban puppet," would lead to a world of personal suffering.

"If you choose this path you will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out. You will lose everything," Trump said to cheers from the crowd. "They are risking their lives and risking their future for a man controlled by the Cuban military."

Trump accused Maduro and the handful of elites he said run the country of plundering the nation "into poverty and into death." And Trump railed against what he described as the "tyrannical socialist" governance that has brought the once-wealthy nation to the brink of ruin.

He urged military leaders to turn away from socialism and toward democracy, reiterating Guaidó's promises of amnesty under which military leaders would be allowed to live life "in peace with your families and your countryman."

"End this nightmare of poverty, hunger and death for your people," Trump pleaded, noting that the U.S. delivered a shipment of humanitarian assistance for Venezuela to Colombia over the weekend, including thousands of nutrition kits for children.

As NPR has reported, U.S. officials have admitted the delivery is part of a sweeping effort in the past two weeks to amass such a vast supply of much-needed food and medicine just out of reach of the desperate population, that Venezuelan military officers will be forced to capitulate and defy Maduro by allowing aid to enter the country.

So far, the Venezuelan president has refused to allow the foreign aid to cross the border, insisting it is "a Trojan horse" and "a precursor to an American invasion," NPR's Eyder Peralta told All Things Considered.

The supplies remain stuck, blocked by Maduro's army at the Colombian-Venezuelan border.

During the speech Trump said the U.S. seeks a peaceful transfer of power in Venezuela, but he added "all options are open."

The spirited speech did not contain any specifics regarding imminent diplomatic or policy changes. But, in what's likely a field-test of some of Trump's 2020 reelection themes, the president continually bashed socialism in the swing state of Florida before an audience of Venezuelan exiles and Cuban-Americans.

"The twilight hour of socialism has arrived," Trump said, adding that the 50 nations that have recognized Guaidó as the legitimate leader of Venezuela have a "shared interest in preventing the spread of "socialism."

Trump also condemned the "ugly alliance" between the Cuban and Venezuelan governments, which he said propped one another up.

"To those who would impose socialism on the U.S.," he said, "we again deliver a very simple message: America will never be a socialist country."

Trump's speech came on the same day that Maduro's government expelled a group of European Union diplomats who planned to meet with Guaidó . </s> President Donald Trump urged Venezuelan military officials to support the its self-declared interim president Juan Guaidó during a speech on Monday, in which he also said socialism had ravaged the country.

Trump spoke in front of a Venezuelan American community on Monday at Florida Ocean Bank Convocation Center at Florida International University in Miami.

The majority of his speech highlighted the political crisis in Venezuela and criticized socialism.

Speaking to a crowd of mostly Venezuelan and Cuban immigrants, Trump warned that military members who are helping Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro could be risking their lives.

"You will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out. You will lose everything," he said.

Trump said there are "truckloads" of humanitarian aid at the Venezuelan border "waiting to help millions and millions in need."

On Saturday the US sent a military aircraft filled with aid for Venezuelan citizens to Colombia, but Maduro would not allow the contents into the country.

"Two days ago the first us air force C-17 landed in Colombia loaded with crucial assistance, including thousands of nutrition kits for little Venezuelan children," Trump said. "Unfortunately dictator Maduro has blocked this life-saving aid from entering the country. He would rather see his people starve than give them aid."

Read more: The US sent a military plane full of soap, toothbrushes, and nutritional products to Colombia to help Venezuelan citizens — but Venezuela's president won't accept it

Maduro, who is facing criticism over his management of Venezuela's economy, has said that accepting aid from the US could lead to a US military invasion and has blocked all foreign aid from entering the country.

Critics say Maduro's re-election last year was fraudulent, and a power struggle in the country led to a violent shutdown Saturday, according to the Associated Press.

Trump accused Maduro and a "small handful at the top of the Maduro regime" of failing the Venezuelan people.

"We know who they are and we know where they keep the billions of dollars they have stolen," Trump said.

He said he would like a "peaceful transition of power," to Guaidó, "but all options are open."

Trump also welcomed to the stage the mother of Oscar Perez, a Venezuelan police officer who was killed in a gun battle with authorities months after flying a helicopter over the country's capital and launching grenades at the Supreme Court building, the Associated Press reported.

Trump said in his speech that a "new day is coming in Latin America" and that what happened there "will never happen to us."

"Socialism is dying and liberty, prosperity and democracy are being reborn" he said, adding that he hopes soon that "This will become the first free hemisphere in all of human history."

Trump has previously used the economic situation in Venezuela as a way to warn voters that Democratic politics will turn the US into Venezuela.
• Rep. Ilhan Omar had a heated exchange with Trump's Venezuela envoy over his role in the US's violent history in Central America
• Venezuela's Maduro says he has held secret meetings with US officials even after Trump publicly backed his opponent
• Russia says Venezuela hasn't asked for any military assistance amid its deepening crisis
• Amid economic meltdown, semi-secret operations in Venezuela turn its useless bank notes into gold </s> MIAMI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday warned members of Venezuela’s military who remain loyal to socialist President Nicolas Maduro that they are risking their future and their lives and urged them to allow humanitarian aid into the country.

Speaking to a cheering crowd mostly of Venezuelan and Cuban immigrants in Miami, Trump said if the Venezuelan military continues supporting Maduro, “you will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out. You’ll lose everything.”

Maduro retaliated late on Monday that Trump’s speech was “nazi-style” and said he acted as if he were the owner of Venezuela and its citizens his slaves.

Trump offered strong backing for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom the United States, many of Venezuela’s neighbors and most Western countries have recognized as interim president of Venezuela.

But Maduro, who won a second term last year in an election that critics denounced as a sham, retains the backing of Russia and China and control of Venezuelan state institutions, including the security services.

Trump cautioned Venezuelan armed forces not to harm Guaido or other opposition politicians, urged them to accept the National Assembly leader’s offer of amnesty and demanded that they allow in food, medicine and other supplies.

Guaido, who invoked constitutional provisions to declare himself the country’s leader last month, has said that aid will enter Venezuela from neighboring countries by land and sea on Saturday.

The United States has sent tons of aid that is being stockpiled on Colombia’s border with Venezuela, but Maduro has refused to let it in.

Maduro calls the aid a U.S.-orchestrated show and denies any crisis despite many Venezuelans’ scant access to food and medicine.

U.S. President Donald Trump pauses speaks about the crisis in Venezuela during a visit to Florida International University in Miami, Florida, U.S., February 18, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

“We will not make of the honorable Venezuela a Venezuela of beggars,” he said in televised comments on Monday. “We will not accept it.”

Maduro said Venezuela already received “humanitarian assistance” on a daily basis. Russia, for example, was sending 300 tonnes of aid to the country by plane on Wednesday, he said, albeit clarifying this was not a donation but supplies for which Venezuela had paid.

BROAD ATTACK ON SOCIALISM

“We seek a peaceful transition of power but all options are open,” Trump said. It was a further hint of Trump’s repeated insistence that military options remain on the table, though most Latin America experts believe such action is unlikely.The United States has had direct communications with members of Venezuela’s military urging them to abandon Maduro, a senior White House official told Reuters this month, and Trump’s aides have openly predicted more defections.

But so far, few military officers have turned against Maduro.

A source in Washington close to the opposition expressed doubts whether the Trump administration has done sufficient groundwork to spur a wider mutiny in the ranks, where many officers are suspected of benefiting from corruption and drug trafficking.

Guaido, in a videotaped message to the crowd at Florida International University, called it a “decisive moment” to exert pressure on Maduro from inside and outside the country.

Trump also used his speech to rail against socialism as a “dying” ideology in the Western Hemisphere and to brand Maduro a “puppet” of communist-ruled Cuba.

While the Republican president did not directly equate socialism with the Democratic party, as he appeared to do in his State of the Union speech this month, he alluded to his earlier criticism of domestic policies proposed by some liberal Democrats.

FILE PHOTO: Soldiers with their faces painted march during a military parade to celebrate the 205th anniversary of Venezuela's independence in Caracas, Venezuela July 5, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/File Photo

“America will never be a socialist country,” he said.

Trump wants to boost support among Florida’s Hispanic voters as he looks ahead to his re-election campaign in 2020, when Florida is again expected to be an important swing state. </s> U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday warned members of Venezuela’s military who remain loyal to socialist President Nicolas Maduro that they are risking their future and their lives and urged them to allow humanitarian aid into the country.

Speaking to a cheering crowd mostly of Venezuelan and Cuban immigrants in Miami, Trump said if the Venezuelan military continues supporting Maduro, “you will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out. You’ll lose everything.”

Maduro retaliated late on Monday that Trump’s speech was “nazi-style” and said he acted as if he were the owner of Venezuela and its citizens his slaves.

Trump offered strong backing for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom the United States, many of Venezuela’s neighbors and most Western countries have recognized as interim president of Venezuela.

But Maduro, who won a second term last year in an election that critics denounced as a sham, retains the backing of Russia and China and control of Venezuelan state institutions, including the security services.

Trump cautioned Venezuelan armed forces not to harm Guaido or other opposition politicians, urged them to accept the National Assembly leader’s offer of amnesty and demanded that they allow in food, medicine and other supplies.

Guaido, who invoked constitutional provisions to declare himself the country’s leader last month, has said that aid will enter Venezuela from neighboring countries by land and sea on Saturday.

The United States has sent tons of aid that is being stockpiled on Colombia’s border with Venezuela, but Maduro has refused to let it in.

Maduro calls the aid a U.S.-orchestrated show and denies any crisis despite many Venezuelans’ scant access to food and medicine.

“We will not make of the honorable Venezuela a Venezuela of beggars,” he said in televised comments on Monday. “We will not accept it.”

Maduro said Venezuela already received “humanitarian assistance” on a daily basis. Russia, for example, was sending 300 tonnes of aid to the country by plane on Wednesday, he said, albeit clarifying this was not a donation but supplies for which Venezuela had paid.

“We seek a peaceful transition of power but all options are open,” Trump said. It was a further hint of Trump’s repeated insistence that military options remain on the table, though most Latin America experts believe such action is unlikely.The United States has had direct communications with members of Venezuela’s military urging them to abandon Maduro, a senior White House official told Reuters this month, and Trump’s aides have openly predicted more defections.

But so far, few military officers have turned against Maduro.

A source in Washington close to the opposition expressed doubts whether the Trump administration has done sufficient groundwork to spur a wider mutiny in the ranks, where many officers are suspected of benefiting from corruption and drug trafficking.

Guaido, in a videotaped message to the crowd at Florida International University, called it a “decisive moment” to exert pressure on Maduro from inside and outside the country.

Trump also used his speech to rail against socialism as a “dying” ideology in the Western Hemisphere and to brand Maduro a “puppet” of communist-ruled Cuba.

While the Republican president did not directly equate socialism with the Democratic party, as he appeared to do in his State of the Union speech this month, he alluded to his earlier criticism of domestic policies proposed by some liberal Democrats.

“America will never be a socialist country,” he said.

Trump wants to boost support among Florida’s Hispanic voters as he looks ahead to his re-election campaign in 2020, when Florida is again expected to be an important swing state. </s> MIAMI — President Donald Trump on Monday pleaded with Venezuela’s military to support opposition leader Juan Guaido and issued a dire warning if they continue to stand with President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

“You will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out. You will lose everything,” Trump said in a speech at Florida International University in Miami before large American and Venezuelan flags.

Trump added: “We seek a peaceful transition of power, but all options are open.”

The Venezuelan military could play a decisive role in the stalemate but has largely remained loyal to Maduro.

In remarks broadcast on state television, Maduro accused the U.S. president of speaking in an “almost Nazi style” and lashed out at Trump for thinking he can deliver orders to Venezuela’s military.

“Who is the commander of the armed forces, Donald Trump from Miami?” Maduro said. “They think they’re the owners of the country.”

Trump said “a new day is coming in Latin America,” as he sought to rally support among the largest Venezuelan community in the U.S. for Guaido. The U.S. recognizes him as the country’s rightful president and condemns Maduro’s government and its socialist policies.

As the monthslong political crisis stretched on, the military has blocked the U.S. from moving tons of humanitarian aid airlifted in recent days to the Colombian border with Venezuela. The aid shipments have been meant in part to dramatize the hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine that are gripping Venezuela. Trump said of Maduro, “He would rather see his people starve than give them aid.”

Critics say Maduro’s re-election last year was fraudulent, making his second term illegal.

Venezuela’s power struggle is headed to a potentially violent showdown Saturday, when Guaido will try to run caravans of U.S. humanitarian aid across the Venezuelan border from Colombia. Maduro denies a humanitarian crisis exists, blaming the Trump administration for mounting a coup against him.

More than 2 million Venezuelans have fled the country in the last two years, most flooding across the border into Colombia, Brazil and Peru. Those left behind struggle to afford scarce supplies of food and medicine as inflation soars.

Maduro maintains support from Russia, China and Turkey, while Guaido has won recognition from dozens of world leaders in Latin America and Europe, who are demanding that Maduro holds new elections or steps down.

So far, Maduro isn’t budging. In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Maduro said Venezuela is ready to make an economic rebound once Trump removes his “infected hand” from the country that sits atop the world’s largest petroleum reserves.

Trump urged the Venezuelan military to accept Guaido’s offer of amnesty and refrain from violence against those opposing Maduro’s government. And he praised the Venezuelan opposition, saying of the people of Venezuela, “They are turning the page on dictatorship and there will be no going back.”

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said earlier Monday that the U.S. “knows where military officials and their families have money hidden throughout the world.”

South Florida is home to more than 100,000 Venezuelans and Venezuelan-Americans, the largest concentration in the country. Speaking in the presidential battleground state, Trump also sought to draw a contrast with the policies of progressive Democrats, which he brands as “socialist,” as he gears up for re-election.

Trump said that “socialism has so completely ravaged” Venezuela “that even the world’s largest reserves of oil are not enough to keep the lights on.” He added: “This will never happen to us.”

“Socialism promises prosperity, but it delivers poverty,” he said.

Trump was introduced by first lady Melania Trump and joined by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, who have all been outspoken in their criticism of Maduro’s government. Trump also spoke of the socialist governments in Cuba and Nicaragua, which have large expatriate communities in the Miami area.

“Socialism is dying and liberty, prosperity and democracy are being reborn” throughout the hemisphere, Trump said, expressing hope that soon, “This will become the first free hemisphere in all of human history.”

In Cuba, the foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez, tweeted that he considered “offensive” Trump’s speech and that it “confirms the threat of military aggression against Venezuela.” He added, “Humanitarian aid is a pretext for a war.”

Shortly after Trump ended his speech, he tweeted, “I ask every member of the Maduro regime: End this nightmare of poverty, hunger and death. LET YOUR PEOPLE GO. Set your country free! Now is the time for all Venezuelan Patriots to act together, as one united people. Nothing could be better for the future of Venezuela!”

Guaido addressed the crowd in a pre-recorded video released by the White House and thanked Trump and the state of Florida for their support.

“Now there is a debate between the democracy and dictatorship — one between life and death,” Guaido said in Spanish. “Today this fight is existential.”

Trump said the U.S. is “profoundly grateful” to dissidents and exiles who have protested and raised alarms about the actions of the Maduro government. But his administration has also come under criticism for not doing enough to grant asylum to those fleeing the country.

“President Trump is two-faced on the Venezuela issue,” said Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Terrie Rizzo. “He talks about fighting the Maduro regime, but his administration keeps deporting and detaining Venezuelans fleeing repression from the Maduro regime.”

Trump had been spending the holiday weekend at his private club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Associated Press writer Scott Smith in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report. </s> US President Donald Trump on February 18 warned members of Venezuela's military who remain loyal to socialist President Nicolas Maduro that they are risking their future and their lives and urged them to allow humanitarian aid into the country.

Speaking to a cheering crowd mostly of Venezuelan and Cuban immigrants in Miami, Trump said if the Venezuelan military continues supporting Maduro, "you will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out. You'll lose everything.

Maduro retaliated late on February 18 that Trump's speech was "nazi-style" and said he acted as if he were the owner of Venezuela and its citizens his slaves.

Trump offered strong backing for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom the United States, many of Venezuela's neighbors and most Western countries have recognized as interim president of Venezuela.

But Maduro, who won a second term last year in an election that critics denounced as a sham, retains the backing of Russia and China and control of Venezuelan state institutions, including the security services.

Trump cautioned Venezuelan armed forces not to harm Guaido or other opposition politicians, urged them to accept the National Assembly leader's offer of amnesty and demanded that they allow in food, medicine and other supplies.

Guaido, who invoked constitutional provisions to declare himself the country's leader last month, has said that aid will enter Venezuela from neighboring countries by land and sea on Saturday.

The United States has sent tons of aid that is being stockpiled on Colombia's border with Venezuela, but Maduro has refused to let it in.

Maduro calls the aid a US-orchestrated show and denies any crisis despite many Venezuelans' scant access to food and medicine.

"We will not make of the honorable Venezuela a Venezuela of beggars," he said in televised comments on February 18. "We will not accept it."

Maduro said Venezuela already received "humanitarian assistance" on a daily basis. Russia, for example, was sending 300 tonnes of aid to the country by plane on Wednesday, he said, albeit clarifying this was not a donation but supplies for which Venezuela had paid.

We seek a peaceful transition of power but all options are open," Trump said. It was a further hint of Trump's repeated insistence that military options remain on the table, though most Latin America experts believe such action is unlikely.The United States has had direct communications with members of Venezuela's military urging them to abandon Maduro, a senior White House official told Reuters this month, and Trump's aides have openly predicted more defections.

But so far, few military officers have turned against Maduro.

A source in Washington close to the opposition expressed doubts whether the Trump administration has done sufficient groundwork to spur a wider mutiny in the ranks, where many officers are suspected of benefiting from corruption and drug trafficking.

Guaido, in a videotaped message to the crowd at Florida International University, called it a "decisive moment" to exert pressure on Maduro from inside and outside the country.

Trump also used his speech to rail against socialism as a "dying" ideology in the Western Hemisphere and to brand Maduro a "puppet" of communist-ruled Cuba.

While the Republican president did not directly equate socialism with the Democratic party, as he appeared to do in his State of the Union speech this month, he alluded to his earlier criticism of domestic policies proposed by some liberal Democrats.

"America will never be a socialist country," he said.

Trump wants to boost support among Florida's Hispanic voters as he looks ahead to his re-election campaign in 2020, when Florida is again expected to be an important swing state. </s> President Donald Trump has repeatedly refused, most recently in a speech Monday, to rule out using the military to end the tyrannical socialist rule of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, concerning many with little appetite for a major U.S. military intervention in yet another country.

“We seek a peaceful transition of power, but all options are open,” President Trump told an audience in Florida on Monday.

Several reports have indicated that, while Trump has mulled the option of deploying troops to aid the Venezuelan opposition, the White House has opted against such a measure. Lost in the discussion of military action in Venezuela, however, has been Maduro’s consistent threats to use Venezuelan soldiers to attack and kill Americans.

Throughout his tenure, which began with the death of dictator Hugo Chávez in 2013, Maduro has called for special military training to attack Americans and threatened that no American will “make it out alive” if they attempt to join pro-democracy Venezuelans in the country demanding he step aside.

Below, five examples of Maduro threatening Americans with military action if they continue to defend the human rights of Venezuelans.

A month before the United States accepted the constitutional removal of Maduro from power, replaced by current interim President Juan Guaidó, Maduro led a massive military rally against the United States, calling himself a “warrior of peace” but warning that American troops – and Brazilian and Colombian ones if they created a coalition – would “not make it out alive” if they entered Venezuela.

To his soldiers, he advised, “You must be ready to go to the heart of the enemy who dares touch Venezuelan soil – to go to the heart of the enemy and to tear out his heart in his own territory,” implying a willingness to invade the United States.

Maduro himself may have no delivered this warning, but it came from one of his most powerful henchmen: Diosdado Cabello, the former head of the fraudulent socialist “national constituent assembly,” television host and alleged head of the Cartel de los Soles, an intercontinental cocaine trafficking outlet. The United States launched a probe against Cabello in 2017 after evidence surfaced that he had ordered the assassination of Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) for exposing his ties to drug trafficking, calling Cabello the “Pablo Escobar of Venezuela.”

It was Cabello that Maduro chose to deliver a message to the United States in October, saying the troops are “fully prepared” to kill Americans.

“Our Armed Forces, I believe, are prepared to resist those attacks of the North American imperialism and of the European Union, because they have a great conscience,” Cabello said during an address to troops.

In yet more remarks to the military at an event organized by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Maduro threatened once more that Americans would have no way of escaping Venezuela alive if troops landed in the country.

“Don’t make a mistake, imperialist sirs … if the imperialists dare break the rules of the game, you [the military] will go to the streets, to charge to the battle, towards total and radical revolution!” Maduro told the crowd. “If the imperialists try anything against this country, which it is likely they will enter, it’s not clear how they are going to get out.”

Maduro and the Venezuelan regime typically use “imperialism” and “empire” as a nickname for the United States.

In August 2017, Maduro ordered the establishment of “civic-military exercises” to teach Venezuelan civilians how to conduct war against Americans. The exercises featured out-of-shape, malnourished Venezuelan men attempting obstacle courses, training to beat each other with rifles, and learning how to shoot firearms. At least one man died of a heart attack from overexertion.

Maduro proclaimed the exercises necessary and spent much of September claiming that Venezuela had been “shamelessly threatened by the most criminal empire to have ever existed and we have an obligation to prepare ourselves to guarantee peace.”

To America, Maduro said in September, Venezuela has “firearms, missiles, and well-oiled tanks prepared … to defend every palm tree in our territory.”

“Venezuela has the most modern missile system that our Armed Forces have ever had in history,” he warned America.

Maduro’s belligerence against America was not limited to the Trump administration, which has been more vocal than its predecessor in condemning the socialist regime’s widespread human rights abuses. In March 2015, Maduro ordered special military exercises to protect from President Barack Obama, who Maduro claimed was plotting to invade the country.

“It is necessary to mark defensive points so that nobody will ever touch our country, the yankee boot will never touch us,” Maduro announced.

Maduro also demanded that more Venezuelans join the armed forces to fight the United States and prevent Venezuela from becoming “Libya or Iraq.” </s> Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó talks to FOX Business’ Trish Regan about the regime of disputed president Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan military, critical aid being blocked and the national call to action.

The chaos in socialist Venezuela continues as pro- and anti-government demonstrators clash over the leadership and legitimacy of the Maduro regime.

President Trump issued a dire warning to the Maduro army urging Venezuelan military officials to support the country’s opposition and refrain from any violence.

“I ask every member of the Maduro regime, end this nightmare of poverty, hunger and death for your people. Let your people go. Set your country free,” Trump said as he addressed the ongoing crisis in Venezuela at Florida International University's main campus in West Miami-Dade on Monday.

The Venezuelan people are in the midst of a humanitarian crisis as Maduro has reportedly blocked aid from entering the country, telling his military, “We are not beggars,” while insisting no such crisis exists in the South American country.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Regan earlier this month that Maduro is actively denying the Venezuelan people basic food and medical care.

“We tried to deliver humanitarian assistance from … the United States and Colombia into Venezuela and the Venezuelan military under the direction of Mr. Maduro stopped that,” Pompeo said.

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Trump called Maduro a “Cuban puppet” and addressed the Venezuelan military, suggesting the continuous backing of the socialist regime will lead to more suffering for the Latin American country and its people.

“If you choose this path, you will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out. You will lose everything,” Trump said.

Watch Trish Regan's one-on-one exclusive interview with Guaidó tonight at 8 p.m. ET on “Trish Regan Primetime” on FOX Business. </s> U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he is considering a blockade or quarantine on Venezuela.

READ MORE: Trump wants Russian military out of Venezuela, says ‘all options’ open

Trump did not provide specifics of the blockade or when it may happen.

When asked by a reporter whether he is considering a blockade or quarantine of Venezuela given the amount of involvement China and Iran have in the country, Trump answered: “Yes, I am.”

Trump made the remarks while departing the White House for a campaign rally in Cincinnati.

The U.S. has sided with Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the interim leader of the country and has called on President Nicolas Maduro to step down along with dozens of other countries.

On Thursday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross outlined plans to rebuild Venezuela’s financial institutions and infrastructure in a speech to Latin American business executives in Brasilia.

Venezuela has suffered blackouts and supply shortages, while massive protests have been held demanding Maduro step down.
In a speech, U.S. President Donald Trump urges the Venezuelan military to abandon Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro or "lose everything".