FILE PHOTO: United States diplomat Elliott Abrams takes notes during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council called to vote on a U.S. draft resolution calling for free and fair presidential elections in Venezuela at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. special representative for Venezuela said on Friday that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has a list of options, including sanctions, Washington could use to respond to the presence of Russian troops in Venezuela.

“We have a list of options we have given the secretary. There are a lot of things we can do in economic terms, in terms of sanctions,” Abrams told a news briefing. “We have options and it would be a mistake for the Russians to think they have a free hand.”