U.S. vows tough approach to Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba

The United States imposed new sanctions Thursday on Venezuela and Cuba and promised additional penalties against Nicaragua as the Trump administration laid out a hard-line policy toward countries the White House branded a "troika of tyranny." National security adviser John Bolton condemned what he called the "destructive forces of oppression, socialism and totalitarianism" that he said the three countries represent. In a speech in Miami, home to thousands of exiles from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, Bolton said the U.S. "will no longer appease dictators and despots near our shores in this hemisphere." He spoke at the Freedom Tower, an important local landmark to the Cuban community in South Florida More…