US will use its power to 'restore democracy' in Venezuela: US Vice President Mike Pence

US Vice President Mike Pence waves to Venezuelan exiles and immigrants on August 23, 2017 in Doral, Florida. (Photo by AFP)

US Vice President Mike Pence has said the United States will not allow the “collapse of Venezuela,” adding Washington will use “economic and diplomatic power” to restore democracy in the South American nation.

Pence made the remarks on Wednesday afternoon in a Miami suburb, which is home to America’s largest Venezuelan community, amid reports that the White House is considering additional sanctions against the Venezuelan government.

“The US will continue to bring the full measure of US economic and diplomatic power to bear until democracy is restored in Venezuela,” Pence told a crowd of hundreds of people. “The collapse of Venezuela will endanger all who call the Western Hemisphere home. We cannot and will not let that happen.”

The US vice president’s comments come days after President Donald Trump told reporters a “military operation, a military option, is certainly something we could pursue” in Venezuela.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres stressed that Latin American countries must be safeguarded from foreign intervention after Trump’s threat of a military action against Venezuela.

And, the Venezuelan foreign minister said the United States would experience 15 times as many difficulties as it suffered in the Vietnam War if it attacked his country.

Pence on Wednesday only stressed on using “economic and diplomatic powers” in dealing with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Venezuela has been reeling from unrest for several months in a crisis caused by political disagreements — including on the formation of the National Constituent Assembly — and shortages of food and medicine and hyperinflation.

The opposition says the government of Maduro is to blame for the crisis, but the government accuses foreign powers and “right-wing terrorists” for the unrest.

Maduro insists that a new constitution is needed “to restore peace,” stop the opposition from carrying out a “coup d’etat,” and address social and economic problems of the country.

He has repeatedly condemned what he calls "imperialist meddling" by the United States.

Pence on Wednesday accused President Maduro of Venezuela’s woes, arguing he has taken the oil-rich country on a path from “prosperity to poverty.”

 “This is not the fate the Venezuelan people have chosen. No free people has ever chosen to walk the path from prosperity to poverty,” he said.

“Venezuela has gone in the opposite direction — toward dictatorship, not democracy, toward oppression, not freedom,” he continued.

 The US has imposed sanctions on Venezuela following the oil-rich nation’s election of the new assembly tasked with rewriting the constitution.

The powerful 545-seat Constituent Assembly, with the principal task of rewriting the 1999 constitution, started its work on Friday, following an election which was held amid a wave of deadly clashes and violence, with protesters attacking polling stations and barricading streets.

At least 125 people have died over the past four months in Venezuela during riots and violent demonstrations against the government.