Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) said on Sunday that it is in the interest of the United States to support the Venezuelan people.
"It's always in our national interest to support people, especially in our hemisphere, who are putting their lives on the line for democracy," Rubio said.
Thousands of Venezuelan people took to the streets this past week in protest against dictator Nicolás Maduro, who was sworn in for a second term. A number of countries, including the Untied States, have accused Maduro of stealing the election.
Before the United Nations Security Council on Saturday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the countries of the world to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaidó, the leader of the Venezuelan legislature, as the country's president. Guaidó declared himself interim president and called for fair elections amid the political and economic turmoil caused by Maduro's socialist government.
Rubio laid out several reasons why the crisis unfolding in Venezuela is important to the U.S. national interest.
"That's our national interest to care. Why? They allow drug trafficking networks to flood our country. They've invited the Russians to open military installations in our own hemisphere. And they are destabilizing the entire region. Six hundred thousand, 700,000 migrants in Peru. Over 1.5 million to 2 million in Colombia. This is a regional catastrophe," Rubio said. "Venezuelans this year could go into different countries, further destabilizing these nations who happen to be partners in the counter-drug effort.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) is critical of the U.S. response to the crisis in Venezuela. She labeled the protests a "US backed coup." Rubio responded to Omar's statements.
"This is not a U.S.-backed anything," Rubio said. "This is -- I didn't see any Americans on the street in Venezuela when hundreds of thousands if not millions of Venezuelans took to the streets on [January] 23rd. This is the National Assembly, which was lawfully elected under the constitution of Venezuela, a constitution put in place by Hugo Chavez."
Pompeo announced on Friday that Elliott Abrams, who served in senior foreign policy positions under former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, to oversee the Trump administration's policy toward the escalating crisis in Venezuela.