President Trump speaks about Venezuela

Our live coverage of President Trump’s remarks has ended. Scroll through the posts below to see how it unfolded or read more about it here.

While he avoided tying Democratic politicians to the socialist government in Venezuela as he has in the past, President Trump briefly turned his speech on Venezuela to domestic politics, vowing the US will “never be a socialist country.” 

“We are born free and we will stay free, now and forever,” he added.

In closing, the President tailored his message about the triumph over socialism to the community of Latin American immigrants in the Miami area. 

“We know what freedom can do in Venezuela because we have seen that future right here in Doral. We know what freedom can do in Cuba because we have seen that future right here in Miami. We know what freedom can do in Nicaragua because we have seen that future in Sweetwater,” Trump said. “And one day soon with God’s help we are going to see what the people are going to do in Caracas and Managua and Havana. And when Venezuela is free and Cuba is free and Nicaragua is free, this will become the first free hemisphere in all of human history.”

President Trump offered a warning directly to the supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro regime: “The eyes of the entire world are upon you.”

Trump warned, seemingly to troops loyal to Maduro, “you must not follow Maduro’s orders” to block humanitarian aid. He also warned against causing harm to the Venezuelan people or interim president Juan Guaido.

“You will lose everything,” he warned.

 Trump continued: “Let your people go, set your country free.”

President Trump lambasted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for preventing humanitarian aid from entering the country and accused him of being a “Cuban puppet.”

Trump noted that there are “truckloads” of humanitarian aid stalled at the Venezuelan border “waiting to help millions and millions in need.”

“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.”

Trump pointed the finger not just at Maduro, but at the “small handful at the top of the Maduro regime” who he accused of plundering the nation.

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

Trump also warned that Venezuelan military officials who continue to back Maduro are “risking their future.”

President Donald Trump railed against socialism during a speech on Venezuela, echoing sentiments in his State of the Union address and remarks at a recent El Paso campaign rally.

“Socialism by its very nature does not respect borders. It does not respect the boundaries or the sovereign rights of its citizens or its neighbors. It’s always seeking to expand, to encroach, and subjugate others to its will,” he told the crowd in Miami. 

Trump vowed that “the twilight hour of socialism has arrived in our hemisphere.”

During his SOTU speech, Trump took these sentiments a step further: “Here, in the United States, we are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country. America was founded on liberty and independence – not government coercion, domination and control.”

Juan Guaidó just appeared at the Miami event via video and made remarks. Here’s an English translation from the pool:

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump just took the stage at Florida International University.

Melania Trump opened the event by speaking about the crisis in Venezuela.

“Many of you in the room know what it feels like to be blessed with freedom after living under the oppression of socialism and communism,” she said.

She went on to say that Americans are standing by the people of Venezuela.

Last month, President Trump formally recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the legitimate president, joining dozens of other countries in declaring current President Nicolás Maduro illegitimate.

Russia, China and Cuba continue to recognize the government of Maduro, who retains control over the country’s security forces.

Since recognizing Guaido, Trump has ratcheted up his rhetoric against Maduro’s regime, even making it a point in his State of the Union speech earlier in February.

The administration has also taken steps to punish Maduro, including sanctioning five high-ranking officials who allegedly “systematically violated human rights and suppressed democracy.”

The US has also leveled significant financial sanctions targeting the country’s state-owned oil company.

Venezuelans take part in a protest against the government of President Nicolas Maduro on Feb. 15.

Venezuelan opposition supporters returned to the streets last week, calling on embattled president Nicolás Maduro to let humanitarian aid into the economically crippled country.

What the protests are all about: Those demonstrations come nearly three weeks after a stand-off began between Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido.

The 35-year-old National Assembly leader has rejected Maduro’s election last year as illegitimate, and declared himself the interim President of Venezuela. To the delight of his supporters, many Western nations and regional neighbors have recognized Guaido as the country’s interim leader.

Maduro has remained defiant in the face of domestic and international pressure. And critically, the Venezuelan military remains loyal to Maduro.

President Trump will speak at the Venezuelan American Community at Florida International University this afternoon.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders passed along these key points he will address in his speech: