Allan Nairn: Trump's Venezuela Envoy Elliott Abrams Is a War Criminal Who Has Abetted Genocide

In an ongoing effort to topple Venezuelan President Nicolis Maduro, Vice President Mike Pence met with members of the Venezuelan opposition at the White House Tuesday alongside Trump's new special envoy to Venezuela, Elliott Abrams. Elliott Abrams is a right-wing hawk who was convicted in 1991 for lying to Congress during the Iran-Contra scandal, but he was later pardoned by President George H.W. Bush. Abrams defended Guatemalan dictator General Efrain Rios Montt as he oversaw a campaign of mass murder and torture of indigenous people in Guatemala in the 1980s. Rios Montt was later convicted of genocide. Abrams was also linked to the 2002 coup in Venezuela that attempted to topple Hugo Chivez. We look at Abrams's track record with prize-winning investigative journalist Allan Nairn, who has closely tracked Abrams for over three decades. Nairn is two-time winner of the George Polk Award and a recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Award.