The Trump administration is doubling down on its policy to isolate Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, with national security adviser John Bolton dubbing the three countries the "Troika of Tyranny" on Thursday. Building on a presidential memorandum released last year that slapped sanctions on entities connected to Cuban military intelligence, Bolton said "over two dozen additional entities owned or controlled by the Cuban military and intelligence services to the restricted list of entities with which financial transactions by U.S. persons are prohibited." We will not reward firing squads, torturers, and murderers … The troika of tyranny in this hemisphere – Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua – has finally met its match.” 
 
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– More than 16 years after arguing that George W. Bush should add Cuba, Syria, and Libya to Iran, Iraq, and North Korea in the "Axis of Evil," John Bolton has coined a new term. In a policy speech at a conference in Miami, the national security adviser dubbed Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela the "Troika of Tyranny" in the western hemisphere, the Hill reports. "In Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, we see the perils of poisonous ideologies left unchecked, and the dangers of domination and suppression," Bolton said. He referred to the leaders of the three countries as the "Three Stooges of socialism," who are "true believers, but they worship a false god." Bolton jabbed at the previous administration's policies, saying the Trump administration is concerned with "sanctions, not selfies." "Under this administration, we will no longer appease dictators and despots near our shores in this hemisphere," said Bolton. "We will not reward firing squads, torturers, and murderers." He praised the election of right-wing leaders in Latin America, including Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil. Bolton announced new sanctions on Venezuela and Cuba, including a ban on American citizens trading in Venezuelan gold, and said Nicaragua would "feel the full weight of America's robust sanctions" until it allows free and fair elections to take place, the Guardian reports. (A source says President Trump discussed an invasion of Venezuela last year.)