Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Photo: Ariana Cubillos/Associated Press.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro called Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha an “imbecile” for spreading false information about the presidential inauguration in Venezuela at the beginning of January and for being unable to defend the sovereignty of the Panama Canal during the recent visit of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Panama.
“Do you remember the imbecile Panamanian foreign minister, who declared on January 8: ‘Great things will happen in Venezuela that will shake the world’? Where is that imbecile Panamanian foreign minister who lowered his pants in front of Marco Rubio when he visited now and was not capable of defending the Panama Canal?” President Maduro lashed out at a mass event on Tuesday, February 4.
“But he was right, on January 8, 9, and 10, great historical events did occurr that shook the world, when our people took to the streets to be sworn in alongside Nicolás Maduro Moros, constitutional president for the 2025-2031 term,” he added.
In January, after meeting with the former Venezuelan far-right presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, Martínez-Acha declared to the media that there would be “a great surprise in Venezuela that will shake the continent.” At that time he had claimed that González Urrutia was the winner of last year’s presidential elections and had promoted his illegal swearing-in, which ultimately did not happen.
Rubio went to Panama last Sunday, where he met with President José Raúl Mulino who later said, “There is no doubt that the canal is operated by Panama and will continue to be so. I do not think there was any disagreement on that.” However, afterwards US President Donald Trump insisted on his attempt to regain control of the canal. “It was given to Panama foolishly, but they violated the agreement and we are going to get it back or something serious will happen,” Trump said on Monday.
(Aporrea)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/BR/SC
