Riyaz Patel
Venezuela’s vice president Delcy Rodriguez says the Trump administration’s sweeping economic embargo against Venezuela in its efforts to oust President Nicolas Maduro constitute “the most grotesque and shameless sacking in international relations’ modern history.”
Donald Trump’s executive order declared all Venezuelan state assets in the US “blocked,” prohibiting them from being “transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in” unless specific exemptions are issued by the Treasury Department.
“The US has to understand once and for all that they aren’t the owners of the world, Rodriguez said, denouncing the move as form of “economic and political terrorism.”
All transactions with Venezuelan state entities are likewise forbidden.
US national security adviser John Bolton, addressing a summit on Venezuela in the Peruvian capital Lima, emphasized that tougher international action was needed to speed up a transition of power in the country.
In New York, Venezuela’s Permanent Representative to the UN said the “racist” Trump administration is trying to fabricate a war on Venezuela.
The Trump administration, “the racist-ever administration in the history of this continent (American Continent), is trying to fabricate a war on Venezuela,” Samuel Moncada told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.
“We are asking the Security Council to exercise its powers expressed or written clearly” in Article 34 of the UN Charter, which gives the Security Council power to investigate any matter that could threaten the peace,” the ambassador said.
“One permanent member of the Security Council (US) with the responsibility of obeying international law is breaking international law.”
Venezuela’s Permanent Representative to the UN – Samuel Moncada
Moncada expressed regret that “one permanent member” of the Security Council with the responsibility of obeying the international law is “breaking international law and forcing the rest of the international community to support the breach of international law.”
“The United States now is a threat to international peace, and we are asking the Security Council to take action,” Moncada told reporters, adding that Bolton is “the enemy of dialogue.”
“Every country that has investments in the US should be very worried because this sets a dangerous precedent against private property,” she added.
She also noted that the US measures are likely to bring additional hardships on the Venezuelan people, who are already suffering from the effects of hyperinflation and a deep recession.
