CHANGE: Trump slaps ‘tough’ sanctions on Venezuela, targets gold sector.

The White House imposed “tough” new sanctions against Venezuela on Thursday, denouncing Caracas as being part of a “troika of tyranny” that includes Cuba and Nicaragua.

National Security Advisor John Bolton told an audience at Miami Dade College that the sanctions would particularly target Venezuela’s gold sector, which “has been used as a bastion to finance illicit activities, to fill its coffers and to support criminal groups.”

Bolton, a longtime foreign policy hawk, said the elections of far-right Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil and conservative Ivan Duque in Colombia were “positive signs for the future of the region” that demonstrate a regional commitment to free markets and “accountable governance.”

“The troika of tyranny in this hemisphere will not endure forever,” Bolton said in prepared remarks, referring to Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

“Like all oppressive regimes and ideologies, it too will meet its demise.”

I’m not convinced of the wisdom of sanctioning a failing regime and creating potential scapegoats, but Bolton isn’t wrong about the “troika of tyranny.”