China’s ambassador to Chile has derided U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, saying he “lost his mind” when he blamed China for the meltdown in Venezuela. Xu Bu made the remarks in an interview published Sunday in the Chilean newspaper La Tercera following Pompeo’s attack on China last week while visiting four South American nations. Tensions are ratcheting up between the nations as the Pentagon explores possible military options to deter Chinese, Russian and Cuban influence in Venezuela, CNN reported Monday. The Trump administration recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s self-declared interim president and has imposed sanctions wreaking increasing hardships in the country to drive out embattled President Nicolás Maduro. Pompeo last week scorched Beijing for continuing to back Maduro.

Source: Huffington Post April 16, 2019 04:17 UTC