16 nations agree to track Venezuela corruption

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP):

Two senior US Treasury officials say finance ministers from several Latin American nations, as well as the US and Europe, have agreed to work jointly to locate and seize assets arising from corruption by Venezuelan government insiders.

They say international officials, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, met yesterday in Washington and also discussed ways to provide swift economic and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela in the event socialist President Nicolas Maduro is replaced. The two spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private.

The gathering of officials from 16 nations took place on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund's spring meetings.

Mnuchin issued a statement calling for "concrete actions" to restrict the ability of Venezuelan officials from abusing the international financial system.