Group photo of the presidents attending the 6th CELAC summit held in Mexico City in 2021. Photo: Reuters/File photo.
Caracas, January 23, 2023 (OrinocoTribune.com)—On Monday, January 23, the Venezuelan government made a statement condemning a plan to attack the Venezuelan delegation to the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). Due to the planned attack, President Nicolás Maduro canceled his participation in this important meeting of the regional body.
In the statement posted on official social media accounts, Venezuelan authorities condemned “a plan by the neo-fascist right to attack the Venezuelan delegation” that was to participate in CELAC’s 7th Heads of State and Government Summit, starting this Tuesday, January 24, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The statement stressed that members of the “neo-fascist right” intended to put on “a deplorable ‘show’ in order to disrupt the positive effects of such an important regional event.” As explained in the official document, the intention was to contribute to a smear campaign launched against Venezuela by the United States.
President Maduro cancels his trip to the CELAC summit in Buenos Aires, due to an unveiled far-right show in the making. He reiterates his strong commitment to #CELAC.#CELACEsUnidad https://t.co/7xzbV4eVtp
— Orinoco Tribune (@OrinocoTribune) January 23, 2023
Foreign Minister Yván Gil has now been appointed as head of the Venezuelan delegation to the summit. He will be in charge of executing “all the necessary interactions that will take place among the 33 delegations present at this meeting.”
Far-right and Zionist campaigns against socialist leaders
The far-right Macrista opposition in Argentina launched a campaign against President Alberto Fernández, who, as the pro tempore president of the CELAC, invited all of the region’s heads of state to the summit. The right-wing opposition, using its parliamentary seats and affiliation with the judiciary, mainstream media outlets and the Zionist lobby, has filed a complaint against the three presidents it considers “dictators.” They claim that the presence of the Cuban, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan heads of state in Argentina will threaten the country’s “democratic spirit.”
Last week, two complaints were filed against these three presidents before the controversial Argentinian judiciary. This judiciary has carried out lawfare against Argentinian Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Venezuela, in the case of the Boeing 747 belonging to Venezuelan state airline Conviasa’s subsidiary Emtrasur that was seized at the Ezeiza International Airport serving Buenos Aires in June 2022.
These complaints to the Argentinian judiciary created the possibility of judicial actions against the Cuban, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan leaders if they set foot on Argentinian soil, disregarding the fact that the complaints lacked any legal basis. The complainants will only use political arguments to reinforce Washington’s typical discourse about “dictatorship” in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
President Alberto Fernández’s ambiguity
When asked last week about President Nicolás Maduro’s possible presence at the summit, Argentinian Presidential Spokesperson Gabriela Cerruti emphasized that the Argentinian government would receive any “democratically” elected president. Although Maduro’s attendance was not yet confirmed then, the usual ambiguity of the Argentinian government regarding Venezuela made room for endless interpretations.
On Sunday, despite the media campaign, President Fernández defended President Maduro’s participation and remarked that “he is more than invited” to the summit.
“Venezuela is part of CELAC, and Maduro is more than invited. As far as I know, he will be. Argentina’s position in relation to Venezuela is to promote, through the Contact Group, the dialogues that are taking place in Mexico. We believe that they can give good results. The idea is that Venezuelans decide among Venezuelans, not with us [meddling],” Fernández told Folha de SĂŁo Paulo newspaper. But he still did not mention the judicial campaign launched against Maduro’s presence.
Below you can read the unofficial translation of the statement:
Venezuela denounces neo-fascist right wing plan against the delegation that will attend the CELAC Summit – Argentina
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, first of all, wants to highlight the historical and strategic importance of holding the 7th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), to be held in the city of Buenos Aires (Argentina), on January 24 of this year. As a founding state, we place ourselves on the front line to ensure the success of our main mechanism of unity and regional integration in favor of our peoples.
That is why we want to notify you that in the last few hours, we have been irrefutably informed of a plan drawn up within the neo-fascist right, whose objective is to carry out a series of attacks against our delegation led by the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro Moros, for which they intend to put on a deplorable “show” in order to disrupt the positive effects of such an important regional event, and thus contribute to the smear campaign —already unsuccessful— that has been launched against our country from the US Empire.
However, in the face of this scenario of extravagant plans designed by right-wing extremists alienated to interests outside our region, and in order to contribute to the good development and successful completion of the summit in question, we have made the responsible decision to send the Foreign Minister of our country as head of the delegation with instructions to bring the voice of the People of Venezuela before the highest authority of CELAC, as well as carrying out the necessary interactions that will take place among the 33 delegations present at this meeting, at all levels.
The government of the Republic of Venezuela thanks the President of the Argentine Republic, Alberto Fernández, for his cordial invitation and for his firm position in guaranteeing the success of this great meeting. The Bolivarian government reaffirms, once again, before the member countries of CELAC and before our peoples, the unwavering commitment to promoting unity and integration as a fundamental path towards the independence and development of our region.
Caracas, January 23, 2023.
Orinoco Tribune Special by staff
OT/JRE/SF
