Pompeo meets Juan Guaido, hails his 'tireless efforts to restore democracy in Venezuela'

US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo on Monday (local time) met Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido and termed his "tireless efforts to restore democracy" in the country as an "inspiration."

"Honored to meet Interim President @JGuaido at the 3rd Counterterrorism Ministerial. His tireless efforts to restore democracy to #Venezuela are an inspiration. We are proud to support him and the people of Venezuela as they strive for a brighter future," tweeted Pompeo.

During the press interaction, Pompeo castigated Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro saying he has engaged in activities that have now caused millions of people to have to flee Venezuela.

"Maduro has engaged in activities that have now caused millions of people to have to flee Venezuela. He's destroyed lives. He's destroyed, families. He's now added to his terror regime, working alongside terror organizations inside of his own country. He's now running an operation that looks more like a cartel than anything else that one could describe," said Pompeo.

"This isn't good for Venezuela, it's not good for the countries that are around Venezuela - here in Colombia, Ecuador, or all the countries of the region, for Peru, for Brazil. These people have now had to flee those countries so that they could do the simple thing of taking care of their family because of Maduro's terrorism," the US Secretary of State said.