- Title: Trump sends aid to Venezuela to 'distract' from own 'scandals'- Caracas
- Date: 25th September 2019
- Summary: UNITED NATIONS (SEPTEMBER 25, 2019) (REUTERS) VENEZUELAN FOREIGN MINISTER, JORGE ARREAZA, APPROACHING REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English and Spanish) VENEZUELAN FOREIGN MINISTER, JORGE ARREAZA, SAYING: "It was really shameful. It's the puppeteer with the puppets, telling them what to do. And of course they are all really frustrated because they have tried all year long to overthrow our government. It has been a continuous coup. They have sanctioned and they have imposed all these blockades against the Venezuelan people and they haven't reached their goals. They haven't achieved their goals and they won't. So it's really Trump trying to distract the public opinion of his own scandals. And it's about his political campaign as well. His face, the face of Trump, he was like disgusting. He didn't like to be there. Maybe because he doesn't like the Latin Americans. (CHANGES TO SPANISH) He had a face of disgust. He didn't want to be there in that meeting. (CHANGES BACK TO ENGLISH) But of course he has to use Venezuela like Colombia uses Venezuela and other countries use Venezuela in order to distract the public opinion and not to concentrate on their own issues and their own problems. So that's, that's the real truth. And we hope that someday the United States, the elite that rules in the United States, learns to respect not only the Venezuelan people, but all the Latin American peoples. And we can have a relation of mutual respect and political tolerance and ideological tolerance. We hope if President Trump or his government wants to have dialogue with the Venezuelan government, our hands are open and we can have dialogue." ARREAZA SPEAKING TO REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) VENEZUELAN FOREIGN MINISTER, JORGE ARREAZA, SAYING: "Their objective, which is to overthrow the constitutional government of Venezuela, is increasingly out of reach. At the beginning of the year we said to Elliott Abrams, who was saying to us, 'it's a matter of days, a question of weeks,' and I said to Mr. Abrams, 'you think this is a race of 100 meters. No, this is a marathon. And Mr. Nicolas Maduro has already taken off. Ahead of the pack. And we will soon confirm the triumph of the Venezuelan people in this battle, this continuous coup d'etat. Just look at what they are doing here. I truly cannot understand how a president can dedicate 80 percent of his address speaking about Venezuela, then speak about patriotism, sovereignty, but at the same time, about the problems of Venezuela, Iran, Cuba, North Korea. Trying to dominate the world, against everyone else's sovereignty. It's just very curious." CLOSE OF ARREAZA SHOWING PHOTOS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) VENEZUELAN FOREIGN MINISTER, JORGE ARREAZA, SAYING: "[Colombian President] Mr. [Ivan] Duque, in his address, truly shameful... if I were Colombian, are you Colombian? [points to reporter], I would be very embarrassed. I am sorry. I regret that you have that president [Ivan Duque]. But he spoke about proof. You saw this, right? [HOLDS UP PHOTOS] This is [Venezuelan Opposition leader] Mr. Juan Guaido. With the [Colombian] paramilitaries. These are paramilitaries, took him. He hired them. Or President Duque. I don't know who. Your president hired them. So they could be taken safely February 28 from Venezuelan territory to Colombian territory. And they confessed it. So it's not just photos." CLOSE OF PHOTOS ARREAZA WALKING AWAY FROM REPORTERS
- Embargoed: 9th October 2019 19:33
- Keywords: Venezuelan aid Juan Guaido
- Location: UNITED NATIONS
- City: UNITED NATIONS
- Country: USA
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001AY5QKP3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The envoy for Venezuela's socialist President, Nicolas Maduro, wrote off Washington's latest attempt to boost the opposition as an attempt to distract from domestic U.S. politics.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday (September 25) told a meeting of Latin American leaders who recognize Venezuelan opposition politician Juan Guaido as Venezuela's rightful leader that they were part of a "historic coalition," trying to oust President Nicolas Maduro.
And in speaking at the United Nations, Venezuela's Foreign Minister, Jorge Arreaza, said Trump returned to the issue of Venezuela to distract from his own problems.
"They haven't achieved their goals and they won't," Arreaza told reporters. "So it's really Trump trying to distract the public opinion of his own scandals. And it's about his political campaign as well."
Trump potentially exposed himself to "serious national security and counter-intelligence risks" when he pressed his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate a leading political rival, Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden, and his son, the intelligence community's inspector general warned.
The opposition, which considers Maduro's 2018 re-election fraudulent, is pushing the European Union to implement sanctions on officials from Maduro's government who have assets stashed in EU states, and called on its Latin American partners to do more to pressure Maduro's remaining allies, such as Cuba.
Trump's meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York was part of the administration's efforts to keep Venezuela "high on the international agenda," a senior U.S. State Department official said on Monday, pushing back on perceptions that U.S. commitment to Venezuela was waning.
In speaking to the reporters, Arreaza further accused Trump of hypocrisy for Washington's policy towards Venezuela and Trump's address at the UN in which he celebrated sovereignty.
Also at the UNGA, Colombia said it will give the United Nations a dossier of "conclusive proof" of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's support for terrorist groups, President Ivan Duque said in his speech to the organization's General Assembly on Wednesday.
Colombia has long accused Maduro of sheltering rebel fighters and crime gang members. The allegations reached a fever pitch last month when several former commanders from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) announced they were re-arming in a video Colombian officials say was filmed in the neighbouring country.
In speaking to reporters at the U.N., Arreaza called Duque's speech "shameful."
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