U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he holds a joint news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump urged the European Union on Tuesday to join in sanctioning the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, after a meeting with Spain’s prime minister at the White House.

“We hope our friends in the EU will soon follow the United States, Canada and many Latin American nations in sanctioning the Maduro regime. We need everybody involved,” Trump said at a White House news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

“The citizens of Venezuela have endured immense suffering, poverty, starvation, and dangerous political unrest under Maduro’s oppressive socialist regime.”