Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil speaks during a press conference as Venezuela's government asks staff from the United Nations human rights delegation to leave the country within three days in Caracas, Venezuela, on February 15, 2024. Photo: Venezuelan Ministry for Foreign Affairs/File photo.
The Venezuelan minister of foreign affairs, Yván Gil, has condemned the “ridiculous threats” made by the head of the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), Laura Richardson, against the sovereign government of Venezuela.
This Thursday, August 29, Gil spoke out on social media regarding the speech given by the head of SOUTHCOM at the South American Defense Conference—held in Chile)—where she claimed that the popularly elected president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, “continues to undermine the democratic will of the Venezuelan people.”
Richardson, who holds the rank of general in the US imperial military, accused President Maduro on Wednesday of acting against the democratic interests of Venezuela’s people following July’s presidential election, saying his victory by popular vote was an example of how democracy was under attack around the world.
“Democracy and its fundamental values remain under attack globally,” she said, “and we don’t have to look any further than Venezuela, where Nicolás Maduro continues to undermine the democratic will of the Venezuelan people.”
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Yván Gil also pointed out that Richardson chose to speak about democracy while in Chile, skirting around the irony of the fact that it was there that “her predecessors met with Pinochet to direct Operation Condor, which killed tens of thousands of Latin Americans.”
“They continue their schemes by attacking Venezuela, where fascism and the heirs of Latin American dictatorships are being fought,” the foreign minister explained. “They now dream of reversing the revolutionary processes in our region. Their hypocrisy is enormous!”
“Your ridiculous threats do nothing to motivate the small violent and terrorist groups that have failed again in our country, Ms. Richardson,” the top Venezuelan diplomat added. “Game over!”
It is common practice for the US Southern Command to make imperial and interventionist statements against Venezuela. This has been repeatedly condemned by various authorities of the Venezuelan government over the years, ever since President Hugo Chávez and the popular force of Chavismo was undertaken by the masses in Venezuela.
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US protects politicians linked to drug trafficking
Minister Gil also responded to the US ambassador in Honduras, Laura Dogu, who attacked the Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, by calling him a drug trafficker.
The foreign minister stated via social media that the US embassy in Honduras is feeling hurt because General Vladimir Padrino “has dealt a blow to their attempt to establish a drug corridor through our country.”
He also criticized the US government for using its so-called “War on Drugs” as a smokescreen strategy to protect the real political leaders linked to drug trafficking.
“As happened with well-known former presidents of Colombia, Mexico, and recently in Honduras, the real drug lords who flood the US with drugs are very close to them,” Gil explained, once again demonstrating the hypocrisy of empire.
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/AU
