Latin America News – President Barack Obama said the U.S. has in the past not and will not become tangled up in Venezuela’s political conflict.
Obama said the U.S. hasn’t tried “in any way” to interfere with the recent election of Nicolas Maduro as Venezuela’s president.
On Saturday Venezuela’s government accused Washington and the Obama administration of being behind violence that has followed its recent presidential election. The violence casue numerous death and many injured during protests.
A foreign ministry statement said that Obama’s “fallacious, intemperate and interventionist declaration” will lead toward deteriorating relations between the countries and “confirms to the world the policy of aggression his government maintains against our country.”
In statement Foreign Minister Elias Jaua accused Obama of “fallacious, intemperate and interventionist declaration” referred to comments the U.S. president made to Spanish-language television network Univision during his trip to Mexico and Costa Rica.
“Venezuela rejects with all the force of its Bolivarian dignity the declaration by United States President Barack Obama which again attacks the legitimate Venezuelan government,” the foreign ministry statement said.
In the interview that aired Friday, Obama wouldn’t say if the United States recognizes Nicolas Maduro as Venezuela’s new president following elections that have been disputed by the opposition.
Maduro, the hand-picked successor to late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, narrowly won April 14 presidential elections. But opposition leader Henrique Capriles contends the election was stolen from him and has challenged the result.
Tensions between supporters on both sides remain high, with tens of thousands of Venezuelans protesting in the streets. Lawmakers even brawled on the floor of the National Assembly last week.
In another interview with Spanish-language network Telemundo that’s set to air on Sunday, Obama described as “ridiculous” the idea that an American filmmaker detained by Venezuela’s government is a spy.
Timothy Tracy, of West Hollywood, California, was formally charged last week with crimes including conspiracy, association for criminal purposes and use of a false document.
Obama says Tracy’s case will be handled like every other in which a U.S. citizen gets into a “legal tangle” while abroad.
The president also said the U.S. hasn’t tried “in any way” to interfere with Venezuela’s recent elections.
Source: The Associated Press.
Category: Latin America News
The Costa Rica News (TCRN)
San Jose Costa Rica
