Brazil's president said today that his country is willing to help prevent an armed confrontation

between the U.S. and Venezuela. The remarks come one day after the Trump administration announced

it would block sanctioned oil tankers traveling to and from Venezuela and after weeks of escalating

pressure on the government of Nicolas Maduro. Last night, we heard from a critic of the Trump administration's approach.

Tonight, a different perspective.

Jimmy's story spent 25 years in the U.S. State Department

and most recently served as ambassador to the Venezuela Affairs Unit

based in neighboring Colombia.

He now works as a partner at an international consulting firm.

Thanks for being with us.

It's a pleasure to be here, Jeff.

Thanks for having me.

You spent years on the ground dealing with Venezuela.

From your vantage point, how significant a turning point is this moment in U.S. policy toward Maduro?

Well, this is a significant moment, and particularly the interdiction of the ship, the skipper,

who was falsely flying the flag of Guyana, is a big move because the Maduro dictatorship,

Maduro regime lives off of exporting oil on the black market to certain markets internationally.

So this is going to have a chilling effect on both legitimate and illegitimate traffic.

Something I advocated for, frankly, for quite a number of years.

I think this is within international legal norms, and certainly it was something to have a big impact on the Maduro regime.

So walk us through precisely why you think stopping the sale of Venezuelan oil

will lead ultimately to the downfall of the regime.

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