The attorney general of Venezuela, Tarek William Saab, at a press conference. File photo.
Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab urged Colombian President Gustavo Petro to deal with the “serious issues” that afflict the people of his own country after the latter made statements about recent arrests in Venezuela.
In a statement published on Thursday, January 16, the Venezuelan attorney general addressed the Colombian president respectfully but with the firmness of those who defend the interests of their homeland and objective truth.
Saab asked the Colombian head of state to pay close attention to who enters Colombia, as many of the arrested mercenaries who had plotted to cause destabilization in Venezuela entered through there.
Saab also expressed surprise at Petro’s silence regarding the incendiary statements made by former Colombian presidents Álvaro Uribe and Iván Duque, who have called for a military intervention against Venezuela.
Saab urged the Colombian president not to repeat the discourse of the extremists who want to oppress the continent and asked him to condemn violence, respect the sovereignty of Venezuelan institutions, and distance himself from the positions of those who created mass graves in Colombia.
An unofficial translation of the Venezuelan attorney general’s statement is provided below:
Esteemed President Petro: Address Colombia’s serious problems while we solve those of Venezuela
Your Excellency Mr. President Gustavo Petro,
I have read with surprise your latest pronouncement, in which you commented on the people detained in various criminal proceedings in our country.
Well-known and respected President with whom I once shared meetings and ideals of emancipation for our Patria Grande: Venezuela has been and continues to be threatened from Colombian territory by criminal narco/paramilitary groups that control a good part of the territory under your jurisdiction.
I am obliged to remind you that it was in Colombia where the mercenaries hired by a nefarious foreign company to come and unleash a bloodbath in our country were trained, and it was from Colombia that they embarked. This happened with full knowledge of the Colombian authorities, and to this day, not a single person has been prosecuted for these acts.
The top leaders of Colombian narco-paramilitarism, Álvaro Uribe and Iván Duque, have even publicly and openly threatened Venezuela again with a foreign military intervention, about which you have remained silent.
In the weeks prior to the inauguration of President Nicolás Maduro, dozens of mercenaries entering our territory from Colombia have been captured. Do the security agencies of your country not know who enters and who leaves your territory?
For the sake of peace in the continent, you should ensure that Colombian security agencies fulfill their duties and protect our shared border.
You celebrate the release of a detainee as an exceptional event, apparently out of ignorance of the Venezuelan reality. Since the end of last year, more than 1,500 people detained during the violent actions following the July 28 election have been released. This Attorney General’s Office continues to review these and other cases in order to provide legal benefits to those who are entitled to them.
In a context of transnational and multifactorial aggression against Venezuela, which we have described as the final rehearsal of a hybrid war against our country and its institutions, we have defended democracy, stability, and internal peace in an exemplary manner with full respect for constitutional guarantees and human rights through the Civic Military Union.
It is well known that in this unconventional war there is participation of some non-governmental organizations receiving financing from USAID, a situation that you cannot ignore for the sake of being objective.
Esteemed President, I do not see Head of State Nicolás Maduro Moros meddling in Colombia’s internal affairs. We only respond when the enemies of Venezuela viciously attack us and commit terrorist acts from Colombia.
With all due respect, I say to you that you should take care of Colombia, which has multiple serious problems. Here, we take care of our own. Do you think that by attacking Venezuela, you are going to save yourself from the executioners who threaten our popular democracies? Do you not think that your discourse is very similar to those characters who turned vast regions of Colombia into mass graves? What do you gain by repeating the discourse of those serial killers? The peace of the continent needs a different approach from you, as Head of Government.
The Venezuelan people and the Colombian people have had powerful ties since the times of independence. We have a shared culture and we wish to strengthen the binational relationship for mutual benefit.
That is why we wish for a peaceful Colombia, as we have achieved in a colossal way that there be peace in Venezuela and that America be a land free from paramilitarism and paid lackeys who demand invasions against our sister nations.
Caracas, January 16, 2025
Tarek William Saab
Attorney General of the Republic
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/SF
