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President Trump says "sad" about situation in Venezuela

Xinhua, April 27, 2017 Adjust font size:

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he is "sad" to see what is happening in Venezuela, adding that the country is "a mess."

"I'm very sad for Venezuela. I'm very sad to see what's happened in Venezuela. Venezuela is a very sad situation," Trump said as he met with visiting Argentine President Mauricio Macri at the White House.

Venezuela has been racked by a political and economic crisis, which has spiraled into clashes between government and opposition supporters in April, leaving at least 29 people dead.

Venezuela's Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez said Wednesday that the country would leave the Organization of American States (OAS).

In a live TV address, Rodriguez said that "the OAS has persisted in intrusive actions against the sovereignty of our country and for this, we proceed to withdraw from the Organization."

Earlier on Wednesday, the OAS held a special meeting in Washington D.C. and voted in favor of calling an emergency meeting of foreign ministers to discuss the situation in Venezuela.

Over the past two decades, the United States and Venezuela have had a difficult relationship.

Following protests in Venezuelan in 2015, the U.S. imposed sanctions on a number of Venezuelan security leaders for alleged human rights abuses and called the country an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the United States.

In February this year, the United States imposed sanctions on Venezuelan Vice President Tareck El Aissami for allegedly playing a significant role in international narcotics trafficking. Enditem