U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will visit Brazil this week, but the focus of his trip will be the deteriorating humanitarian situation in neighboring Venezuela.

It’s the vice president’s third trip to the region, and previous visits also emphasized efforts to isolate the socialist government of President Nicolas Maduro.

The trip also comes at a time when U.S.-Brazil relations are in a holding pattern. The South American country is reeling from a colossal corruption scandal, struggling to recover from a deep recession and trying to look beyond the remaining months of President Michel Temer’s lame duck administration ahead of October elections.

 
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