[News] Maduro - US Human Rights Abusers Not Welcome in Venezuela

[Anti-Imperialist News]

  Maduro: “US Human Rights Abusers Not Welcome in Venezuela”

By Rachael Boothroyd

*http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/11245*

Caracas, March 2nd 2015 (venezuelanalysis.com 
<http://venezuelanalysis.com>) The Venezuelan government has responded 
to increased pressure from Washington by revoking visa rights for former 
US politicians such as George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, described by 
President Nicolas Maduro as “terrorists against the peoples of the 
world” on Saturday.

“I have decided on a prohibition list for people who will not be 
permitted visas and who can never enter Venezuela, for a set of chief US 
politicians who have committed human rights violations. They have bombed 
the people of Iraq, the people of Syria, the people of Vietnam… It is an 
anti-terrorist list,” declared the head of state to an impassioned crowd.

The statements were part of a rousing speech delivered by the president 
on Saturday to thousands of marchers who had taken to the streets of 
Caracas to reject White House interference in the South American 
country. The march was a direct response to a string of further US 
sanctions enacted against the Venezuelan government in early February 
and to what Maduro characterised as a “moment of increased aggression” 
from the Obama administration. The head of state went on to call for a 
“global rebellion against US imperialism”.

“The US thinks it is the boss, the police of the world… Something 
happens somewhere, let’s say in Asia, and a spokesperson for the US 
comes out saying that the US government thinks that such and such a 
government shouldn’t do such and such a thing in Asia… Are we going to 
accept a global government? Enough of imperialism in the world!” stated 
an incensed Maduro.

During his speech, the head of state also announced a slew of new 
diplomatic measures against the US which include the implementation of 
visa requirements for all US citizens visiting Venezuela.

“They must pay what Venezuelans pay when they want to travel to the 
United States,” said the president.

Maduro explained that the changes were designed to “protect” 
Venezuelans, after a number of US citizens were discovered to be taking 
part in acts of espionage by Venezuelan authorities.

One of the most recent detections includes the pilot of a US airplane 
who was stopped and questioned by authorities on the border last week. A 
number of US citizens were also detained last year for their 
participation in the armed barricades or Guarimbas which sought to bring 
down the government and led to the deaths of at least 43 Venezuelans.

Despite the latest measures, Maduro emphasised that Venezuela continued 
to value its relationship with US citizens.

“You can count on the fact that the people of Bolivar respect the people 
of the US, and recognise in you a brother peoples, these decisions are 
against the imperialist elite,” he stated.

The new measures will see the number of staff at the US embassy in 
Caracas significantly reduced and US representatives obliged to inform 
Venezuelan authorities of any meetings that they intend to hold.

The diplomatic institution currently has over 100 employees, in 
comparison to just 17 who work at the Venezuelan embassy in Washington. 
Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Delcy Rodriguez, has explained that the US 
diplomatic mission will be obliged to reduce its staffing numbers to 17 
over the next 2 weeks.

*Tense Relations *

Recently the US embassy in Caracas has become embroiled in a diplomatic 
altercation with the Maduro administration which has intensified since 
the discovery of a planned coup against the government in February. The 
Venezuelan head of state has accused the White House of conspiring 
against his government and charged embassy personnel with having 
advanced knowledge of the coup plot, which was allegedly being funded in 
US dollars from Miami.

Prior to the discovery of the coup, the US embassy was reported to have 
attempted to bribe senior military and government officials to partake 
in insurrectionist actions against the government. US Vice-president Joe 
Biden also made a series of statements accusing the Venezuelan 
government of repression following a meeting with the wife of jailed 
opposition leader, Liliana Tintori.

Current opinion polls suggest significant support amongst the population 
for government actions against the US. According to a February poll 
conducted by opposition aligned think tank, Hinerlaces, 92% of 
Venezuelans oppose any kind of foreign intervention while 62% think that 
the US should not be allowed to pass judgement on the country’s internal 
affairs.

In 2014, the US government issued 103 statements against Venezuela and 
another 65 since the start of the year. Just a few weeks ago, the Obama 
administration also approved increased funding for Venezuelan opposition 
groups and Non-Governmental Organisations.

Published on Mar 2nd 2015 at 11.29pm

-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20150303/5f435fac/attachment.htm>