The US Government was surprised by the meeting between the Vice President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez and the Spanish Minister of Development, José Luis Ábalos, according to statements offered to the press by Carrie Filipetti, a State Department official for Cuba and Venezuela.
“It is surprising that this comes from the Spanish government,” she said. She also said they were in talks with the Administration of this European country “to try to get some answers” because it is not an “event that we welcome,” said the Spanish news agency EFE.
According to Filipetti, the meeting between Rodríguez and Ábalos contravenes the unilateral sanctions imposed on 25 Venezuelan government officials by the European Union, which include the explicit prohibition of traveling to European Union territory.
In that sense, the US diplomat said that “those actions, such as meeting someone, not only undermine the policy that the US and the European Union have implemented with respect to Venezuela, but also undermine all community infrastructure, which relies on cooperation for the implementation of this type of sanctions”.
For its part, the Spanish government clarified that the meeting between the Venezuelan Vice President and the Hispanic minister was fortuitous and was limited to a greeting “forced by circumstances.”
On the other hand, the explanations requested by Carrie Filipetti from the Executive, presided over by Pedro Sánchez, are given as a prelude to the visit of the self-proclaimed interim president, Juan Guaidó to Spain, who will be received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha López Laya, as was officially announced at the beginning of the week.
In addition, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Jon Piecchowski held an emergency press conference raising the same criticism agains Spain for not following US directions.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Jon Piechowski says that reports of the Spanish transport minister meeting with Delcy Rodriguez is disappointing and the US has questions for Spain#Venezuela #Spain pic.twitter.com/CD3qvXNg2A
— CNW (@ConflictsW) January 24, 2020
“The Guaidó regime change operation is in its final stage and the EU countries are not wiling to keep following a strategy that shows clear signs of not going anywhere after more that 12 months,” a political analyst said to Orinoco Tribune.
Now the new formed government in Spain will feel the lashes of the US apparatus (governmental and propagandist) trying to make Spain pay for their insubordination. It is already a scandal in the making according the reading of Spanish news outlets.
Source URL: La IguanaTV with OT content
Translated and edited by JRE/EF
