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(Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine)

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that the Trump administration is preparing to pull the trigger on a broad range of options to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and demanded that interfering countries end their involvement in the beleaguered nation's affairs.

In a string of television appearances, Pompeo suggested the fall of Maduro's government is imminent and that the support for opposition leader Juan Guaidó remains strong despite his failed attempt last week to lead a large-scale defection against the socialist leader.

"We have a full range of options that we're preparing for," Pompeo said on ABC's This Week, adding that potential paths forward include "diplomatic options, political options, options with our allies and then ultimately a set of options that would involve use of U.S. military."

"We're preparing those for [Guaidó] so that when the situation arises, we're not flatfooted," Pompeo said.

When asked if President Trump believes he can intervene without congressional authorization, Pompeo responded by saying he was "very confident any action we took in Venezuela would be lawful."

The Secretary of State denied suggestions that the president is out of step with his own advisers on the role Russia is playing in the crisis.

After a Friday phone call with Vladimir Putin, Trump said the Russian president "is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive for Venezuela."

Trump's remarks contradicted previous statements by Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton, who on Twitter an hour earlier had accused Russia and Cuba of maneuvering to keep Maduro "clinging to power" by providing the regime with supplemental foreign military forces.

But on Fox News Sunday, Pompeo said Trump has been "very clear" about wanting the Russians to stop meddling in Venezuela. He referenced a tweet from several weeks back in which Trump said the Russians have to get out. "That remains our view," he said. "We want the Venezuelan people not to have interference from any country, whether it's China or Russia."

The U.S. and more than 50 other countries recognize Guaidó as the legitimate interim leader. Earlier this week, Guaidó unsuccessfully called on the country's military to revolt against Maduro, however, anti-Maduro protests have continued.

Pompeo comments come as he gears up for a face-to-face meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday as part of a multi-day trip to Europe.

After a meeting Sunday with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza in Moscow, Lavrov condemned the U.S. for allegedly violating international law in what he said was a campaign to to overthrow Maduro, Reuters reported.

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Pompeo Says U.S. Prepared To Offer Guaidó 'Full Range Of Options' To Oust Maduro

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that the Trump administration is preparing to pull the trigger on a broad range of options to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and demanded that interfering countries end their involvement in the beleaguered nation's affairs.

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If you have further interest in learning about Cuba, Netflix currently has a couple of informative documentaries. 

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If you have further interest in learning about Cuba, Netflix currently has a couple of informative documentaries. 

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An American journalist documents Cuban families over the course of four decades (approximately 2 hours).

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Cuba and the Cameraman | Netflix Official Site

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Emmy-winning filmmaker Jon Alpert chronicles the fortunes of three Cuban families over the course of four tumultuous decades in the nation's history. Watch trailers & learn more.

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The town of Viñales is a two and a half hour drive west from Havana and located in the Pinar del Rio province. This region's economy is based on European tourism and tobacco cultivation.

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The town of VIñales featured a typical town square with a church and a space for entertainment. Below is a video of children's event that took place on the evening of April 16, 2019.

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Cuba is home to amazing beaches and resorts that are frequented by Canadian and European tourists. Playa Jibacoa is located an hour east of Havana.

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The making of Guarapo.

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American citizens are banned from staying in hotels which are owned by the Cuban government.  Therefore, throughout our journey in Cuba we showed "support for the Cuban people" by renting  "casas particulares" which are actual homes of Cuban people.

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In the past two or three years WI-FI access has increased in Cuba.      In order to access WI-FI people must purchase internet cards (like calling cards) for one to three CUCS (dollars) for an hour of internet time and then find a designated hot spot.   Most hotels have hotspots.  Recently, Cuban citizens have been able to acquire internet access the island on their cells phones.

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Our tour guide was trained as an information technology specialist, but instead works as a guide giving one or two tours each month in order to make ends meet. Since the Cuban economy does not meet the needs of the people often Cubans have training in a certain career path, but also utilize the black market to buy and sell much needed goods and services.  Our guide is holding tuKola which is the Cuban version of Coca-Cola.

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Below is a page from a Cuban ration booklet which includes which products each family can pick up from a government store each month. Food has been rationed since the Cuban Revolution (1959).

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This is a government run store where locals pickup their monthly ration of supplies.

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The United States and Cuba do not have normal relations.  The United States government has an embargo on Cuba which results in no commercial or financial transactions between the United States and Cuban governments or private companies. American citizens are barred from traveling to Cuba as tourists.  Though the United States Congress would have to pass a law to end the embargo (the Cubans refer to the Embargo as the "blockade"), each US President has given executive orders that loosen or restrict travel to Cuba.  President Obama loosened travel restrictions in 2016, reopened the US Embassy in Havana, and visited the island.  Recently President Trump has restricted travel.  The license we had to visit Cuba is known as the "Support for the Cuban people" license.  Cuba is adorned with cars from the 1950s which is the  last time the United States and Cuba had an economic relationship.

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The Hotel Nacional is the most historic hotel in Havana.  The hotel overlooks the ocean and was a known hangout  for organized crime units from the United States. Organized Crime from the United States initially made its way to Cuba during the 1920s during the Prohibition Era. When Fidel Castro took over in 1959 gambling was outlawed in Cuba.  Organized crime leadership met in the hotel in 1946 to discuss the organization of the gambling business (indirectly referenced along with the Cuban Revolution in the 1974 film The Godfather Part II).

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Prior to the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the United States supported the dictator who controlled Cuba.  When Cuban Revolutionary Fidel Castro took Control in the early 1960s and the Cold War was in full swing,  relations between the United States and Cuba regressed.  In 1961, the United States implemented a covert operation to re-take control of Cuba from Castro (Bay of Pigs Invasion).  When the the invasion failed, Cuba developed an alliance with the Soviet Union which included the Soviets placing operational nuclear missiles on Cuba that could destroy the United States (Cuban Missile Crisis-1962).
Pictured below is a part of a United States aircraft currently on display at the Museum of the Revolution.  The aircraft that this  fragment comes from  was shot down during The Bay of Pigs Invasion.

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Pictured below is memorial dedicated to Jose Martí at the plaza de la revolución.  The government was preparing for the annual celebration in May.  We were told that  Fidel Castro delivered speeches here  that lasted several hours.

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Image of Cuban Revolutionary Che Guevara in the Revolutionary Plaza.

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Infrastructure in Old Havana is not developed. Citizens often relay on the delivery of water to their neighborhoods.

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American author, Ernest Hemingway, had an affinity for Cuba and owned a home which he left for the Cuban people when he died.