Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Honduran President Xiomara Castro at a bilateral meeting. Photo: Diario La Prensa.
The President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro expressed his “absolute support” for his Honduran counterpart, Xiomara Castro, who he said is the victim of a “cruel and excessive attack” by the United States after she terminated the US-Honduras extradition treaty.
“On behalf of all the people of Venezuela, I express my absolute support for the president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, who is the victim of a cruel and excessive attack by those who have sowed terror in our America, promoted coups d’état, and created alliances and protection mechanisms for criminal and fascist groups that today try to threaten our democracies,” President Maduro wrote on social media on Saturday, August 31. “President Xiomara Castro, worthy daughter of [Central American independence hero] Francisco Morazán, has taken a step in strengthening independence and national sovereignty. The people of Latin America admire her courage and bravery, and we are obliged by history to close ranks in her support in the battle she is fighting for the dignity of her homeland, against imperialist and neo-colonial ambitions of the United States against the noble Honduran people.”
On Wednesday, August 28, Honduran President Xiomara Castro terminated the extradition treaty of Honduras with the United States amid a diplomatic tension created by the US ambassador in Tegucigalpa, Laura Dogu, who had criticized a recent meeting of Honduran authorities with Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, whom the US official branded as a “narco-trafficker.”
Honduras Condemns Armed Forces Coup Attempt (+US Extradition Treaty)
On Thursday, President Castro said that she will not allow the extradition treaty to be used to “intimidate or blackmail” the Honduran Armed Forces, considering that it may be used as a “political weapon” against her government officials.
On Friday, the Honduran National Defense and Security Council (CNDS) accused the United States of trying to destabilize the Honduran government and expressed its support for the president’s decision.
After the conclusion of a CNDS meeting, Honduran Security Minister Gustavo Sánchez said that President Castro has “the vote of confidence and full support in the face of the attacks and threats from the US Embassy that intends to destabilize the democratic institutions of the Honduran State, going against the mandate of the Honduran people, who democratically elected the President of the Republic.”
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/DZ
