Trump meets Caribbean leaders on regional issues

U.S. President Donald Trump has met with several leaders of the Caribbean region to discuss regional issues at his Mar-a-Lago resort in the state of Florida, the White House said on Friday.

In a statement, the White House said that Trump on the same day met "with the leaders of The Bahamas, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Saint Lucia."

"They discussed the importance of supporting a peaceful democratic transition in Venezuela, disaster resilience, opportunities for investment, and ongoing security cooperation," the statement read.

"We announced that OPIC will give priority status to these five countries and send a high level delegation in the next 90 days," it said, referring to the U.S. government-owned Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).

Trump said earlier he and the Caribbean leaders would talk about trade and Venezuela.

Also on Friday, U.S. Department of the Treasury slapped sanctions on Venezuelan Economic and Social Development Bank (BANDES) and four other financial institutions BANDES owns or controls, over the alleged arrest of an aide of Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido.

The Trump administration recognized Guaido as the nation's "interim president" on Jan. 23, days after Nicolas Maduro was inaugurated for a second term as Venezuela's president.

In response, Maduro severed "diplomatic and political" ties with the United States.