White House national security adviser John Bolton said on CNN Sunday that he doesn't think that the U.S.' support for dictators undermines the Trump administration's hardline stance against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The big picture: CNN's Jake Tapper noted that the U.S. supports leaders that perpetrate human rights abuses in other parts of the world, including in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE. Bolton invoked the Monroe Doctrine to explain that it's always been the goal of the Trump administration and other presidents to have a democratic Western Hemisphere, and that they will continue to push for an end to the Maduro regime.
- Bolton also brought up the "Troika of Tyranny" — a term he coined last year to describe Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Notably, the administration's Latin America strategy has involved closer engagement with Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro — who has spoken fondly of military rule — in the fight to "advance the rule of law and increase security and prosperity" within the region
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