'Swift professionalism': Pence praises Trump's Syria strike and thanks Canada for support
- by Jerome Frank
- in World News
- — Apr 16, 2018
Saturday's meeting comes amid tensions between President Donald Trump and Mexico over immigration and the president's calls for a border wall.
Later, speaking in a cavernous hall of world leaders at the Summit of the Americas, Pence expressed gratitude to Canada, Colombia and other nations that had voiced support for the strike and urged "every nation in this hemisphere of freedom" to support the military action.
The countries, collectively named the Lima Group after the location of their first declaration, have vowed to not recognize the results of a May 20 Venezuelan presidential election that the opposition says Maduro has rigged in his favor.
Vice President Mike Pence says there's a "real possibility" the US could reach a deal with Canada and Mexico on a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement "within the next several weeks".
Ana Quintana, a senior policy analyst on Latin America and the Western Hemisphere for the Heritage Foundation, said Pence would seek to "continue the momentum" of USA policy on Venezuela.
In this September 7, 2017 file photo, Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto wipes sweat from his forehead during the International Financial Inclusion Forum at the National Palace in Mexico City.
After the US pulled out, 11 countries reached a revised deal last month that dropped some clauses that had been meant to benefit the United States. The vice president called Maduro's government a "dictatorship" and said the USA would continue to push a hard line against the country's leadership.
Agen told reporters that Pence spoke with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
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Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at $456,344.46. On Thursday, Tesla's share price closed at $294, down 25% from a record high of $390 that it touched in September.
Trump, meanwhile, has long assailed the impact of NAFTA on U.S. workers and has insisted on a new round of negotiations between the U.S., Canada and Mexico on NAFTA.
The funds are through the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Senate Democrats are urging Vice President Mike Pence to use his trip to Lima to reset relations with a region where they say President Donald Trump's immigrant-bashing rhetoric is costing the USA influence.
Pence is in Lima for an global summit.
Pence is subbing for President Donald Trump after the president pulled out of his first planned visit to Latin America to manage the USA response to an apparent chemical weapons attack on civilians in Syria. They include National Assembly President Julio Borges and former Caracas mayor Antonio Ledezma.
The White House said Pence would sit down Saturday with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who has yet to meet with Trump in an impasse over the wall Trump has pledged to build along the U.S. -Mexico border.
The summit also gave Pence an opportunity to press the case for tougher sanctions and more isolation of Venezuela across the region.
Pence is departing for the Summit of the Americas in Lima on Friday. Pence took Trump's place at the summit so the president could remain in the U.S.to manage the response to the apparent chemical attack by Syria. He's also expected to urge Latin American allies to maintain pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.