Pompeo Orders ‘Non-Emergency’ U.S. Employees Out of Venezuela

  • Americans urged to ‘strongly consider’ leaving the country
  • Showdown revives memories of Pompeo’s attacks on Clinton

Members of the Bolivarian National Guard stand guard as shoppers browse goods at the Municipal Market of Quinta Crespo in Caracas, Venezuela.

Photographer: Carlos Becerra/Bloomberg
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Secretary of State Michael Pompeo ordered most U.S. government employees to leave Venezuela on Thursday, acknowledging the safety threat posed after the Trump administration declared President Nicolas Maduro an illegitimate leader.

While Pompeo initially scoffed at a demand by Maduro that all U.S. diplomats depart by Saturday afternoon, the State Department issued an advisory late Thursday that “non-emergency U.S. government employees” should leave.