Venezuela restricts US influence

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The new visa regulations will be designed to have Americans pay equal to what Venezuelans have to pay to travel to the US. Maduro also announced plans to limit the number of US diplomats in the country. He cited a high disparity compared to the number of Venezuelan diplomats in the US as his reasoning.

In a move of opposition to the United States that has become characteristic, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced on Mar. 1 that all Americans traveling to the country would be required to obtain mandatory visas.

“In order to protect our country…I have decided to implement a system of compulsory visas for all Americans entering Venezuela,” Maduro said according to ‘Russia Today’.

During the announcement of the new regulations, Maduro made claims of recently apprehended American spies and promised to ban a list of US politicians from the country including George Bush and Dick Cheney.

“I know the White House has given orders to destroy Venezuela and to remove me from power,” Maduro said according to ‘NPR’.

Maduro and his predecessor before him—Hugo Chavez—are notorious for their claims of the US meddling in their affairs which the US State Department has denied. Recently, Maduro accused Vice President Joe Biden of conspiring against Venezuela’s government.

However, political analysts are questioning the motives for Maduro’s actions, arguing that he’s only trying to detract attention from the country’s economic struggles and raise public support for himself and the ruling party.

“It’s clear that the government is no longer tolerating anything that could generate a situation of protests like last year,” Caracas—Venezuela’s capital city—political analyst Dimitris Pantoulas, said in ‘Bloomberg Business’.