President Donald Trump's order to freeze all Venezuelan government assets shows a "renewed sense of confidence" that socialist leader Nicolás Maduro must be removed from power, National Security Adviser John Bolton said Tuesday.
"I think the regime's isolation is increasing," Bolton told Fox News' "Fox and Friends" during an interview called in from Lima, Peru, where he will speak with government officials from western countries who oppose Maduro.
"The people of Venezuela need the regime to be removed and the legitimate National Assembly government to take power and hold new elections," Bolton added. "That's really the new impetus I think we're going to get from the conference here today."
Also on Tuesday, Bolton discussed the continuing North Korea missile tests, noting that Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have an "understanding" that long-range intercontinental missiles will not be launched
"I think the president is watching this very, very carefully," said Bolton.
Bolton further discussed the administration's determination that China is a "currency manipulator" after China allowed its yuan to weaken past the key 7-per-dollar level on Monday for the first time in more than a decade.
The "real issue," is that China has not been living up to its commitments for decades, said Bolton, because it has been committing intellectual property theft, forced technology transfers, discriminating against American and other foreign countries, and more.
"This behavior was accepted by the United States for far too long," said Bolton. "The president has said I'm not going to accept it any longer."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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