Rep. Ilhan Omar is criticizing the bipartisan support in Congress for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, blaming U.S. policy rather than dictator Nicolás Maduro for the "devastation" facing the country.

“You know, I mean, a lot of the policies that we have put in place has kind of helped lead the devastation in Venezuela. And we’ve sort of set the stage for where we’re arriving today,” the Minnesota Democrat said Wednesday in an interview with "Democracy Now! ."

“This particular bullying and the use of sanctions to eventually intervene and make regime change really does not help the people of countries like Venezuela, and it certainly does not help and is not in the interest of the United States,” Omar said on the progressive television program.

Omar’s opposition to “regime change” comes after the United States and dozens of other Western nations declared Guaidó the legitimate leader of Venezuela following irregularities in the election Maduro oversaw.

National security adviser John Bolton said yesterday the United States is keeping “all options” on the table as the administration considers its next steps in responding to the political crisis.

Guaidó announced Tuesday morning that the final phase of “Operation Freedom” to oust Maduro and restore democracy to the country had begun.

In February, Omar attacked Elliott Abrams , the U.S. special envoy to Venezuela, in a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, accusing him of supporting violence against civilians as U.S. policy.

"I suppose there is a question in there, and the answer is that the entire thrust of American policy in Venezuela is to support the Venezuelan people's effort to restore democracy to their country. That's our policy," Elliott responded at the hearing.

