Logo of the National Electoral Council. Photo: Venezuela Analysis.
The vice president of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Diosdado Cabello, has stated that the party is ready for presidential elections to be held whenever the National Electoral Council (CNE) calls them.
During the broadcast of his television program Con el Mazo Dando this Thursday, February 8, Cabello said that the forces of Chavismo are prepared to take part in the electoral process whenever it is determined and convened by the CNE. “The ones who decide are the CNE, but I’m going to tell you something,” he noted, “if the Electoral Power determines that the elections are in March, then we are ready for March, April, or December.”
He reiterated that the presidential elections are going to be held this year no matter what, as established by the Venezuelan Constitution, and emphasized that “the United States government will have no influence” in the process.
Cabello further spoke about the vote of Venezuelans who are in the United States, to whom he clarified that it was not Chavismo’s fault that they can not vote, highlighting that the Venezuelan government cannot guarantee the legitimacy of the vote of Venezuelans living in the United States if there are no bilateral relations.
#CaraETablas | La derecha no soporta la consulta del cronograma electoral
Los palangristas y opinadores están ardidos porque la AN se ha reunido para proponer ante el Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE) un cronograma para los próximos comicios presidenciales.#OseaLiteralNoVas pic.twitter.com/4XmmLAWDb7
— Con el Mazo Dando (@ConElMazoDando) February 8, 2024
Venezuela and the United States severed diplomatic and consular relations at all levels in 2019, and the US government has since opposed Venezuela’s proposed plan to open Offices of Interest wherein Turkey would represent Venezuelan interests in the US and Switzerland would represent US interests in Venezuela. The imperial US arrogance only accepted a plan where Switzerland would serve as the only intermediary, which was not an option for Venezuela taking into consideration how submissive the Swiss Foreign Service is to US imperial dictates and how penetrated it is by US intelligence.
Venezuelan total respect and compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations permitted all US consular and diplomatic headquarters located on Venezuelan territory to be constantly protected and free from violation. However, this was not the case for Venezuelan diplomatic and consular offices in the US, with the White House allowing and encouraging the occupation of the consulate by far-right illegitimate and unlawful representatives of the fictitious so-called “interim government” led by former Venezuelan deputy Juan Guaidó.
“That’s not our fault. If the US did not get involved in the internal affairs of Venezuela we could have had relations with them, but where are the going votes to be casted? In the consulates,” he stated, referring to the lack of Venezuelan consular offices in US territory. Venezuela had eight consular offices in the US before 2019, in Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, New Orleans, Houston, San Juan, and Washington DC.
Exposed: US DEA Used Criminals to Spy On, Destabilize Venezuela, Mexico, Bolivia
Diosdado Cabello also referred to the insistence of far-right politician María Corina Machado to participate in the presidential elections, despite her disqualification. He noted that Machado seems not to be able to understand that she cannot participate in the presidential elections due to her actions in calling for sanctions and blockades against Venezuela.
He condemned the fact that the right-wing political sector calls for invasions, threatens, asks for blockades, and even organizes attacks with assassinations and coups d’états. He noted that ironically, when “one says Bolivarian fury, they try to say that we are threatening them and make us out as the bad guys.”
Cabello denounced the Venezuelan opposition’s use of the presidential elections as a pretext to obtain money. He explained that the right-wing leadership “are hammering everyone who gets in their way for profit.”
“They are going to continue fabricating things that have not happened, because they need that to cash (US money), money, money,” he stated. “For them, elections are not an issue for the country, it is a personal issue for these groups to keep receiving money, to fall into their own lies while begging for money to everyone around them.”
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/AU
