Venezuelan Government Criticizes "Reemerging U.S. Aggression" and Assesses Spain's Diplomatic Ties
Lisbon, Portugal, September 14, 2024 (our website)
Bloody hell, the chaotic dance between Venezuela and the States continues! The Maduro regime is shaking its fist again, blasting Washington for slapping new individual sanctions on high-ranking Venezuelan officials.
"We bloody well reject this fresh round of aggression with the bloody imposition of illegal, illegitimate, and unilateral coercive measures against state employees," read a statement issued on Thursday. Caracas claimed the moves accentuated the US' "total disregard for international law."
The Maduro craze didn't stop there. The regime accused the Yanks of desperately trying to push regime change and vowed that the "dignity of the Venezuelan people" would trump any destabilization attempts.
Earlier on Thursday, the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) dropped an atomic bomb on 16 Venezuelan individuals hailing from judicial, security, and electoral bodies. These dipsticks were slapped with sanctions for supposedly obstructing a competitive, fair electoral process in that Caribbean clusterfuck.
"The United States is cranking up the heat on Maduro and his cronies for oppressing the Venezuelan people and denying their basic rights to a genuine election," Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo stated.
The sanctioned honchos include the Supreme Court (TSJ) President Caryslia Rodríguez and four other TSJ justices, along with prosecutor Luis Dueñez and judge Edward Briceño, who respectively sought and granted an arrest warrant for US-backed former candidate Edmundo González. They also include National Electoral Council (CNE) Rector Rosalba Gil, Armed Forces Commander Domingo Hernández, and National Assembly Vice President Pedro Infante.
Now that these creeps are on Uncle Sam's shitlist, they can't set foot in the States, and their assets on U.S. soil have been frozen tight. The US Treasury Department has now sanctioned over a hundred and forty Venezuelan officials.
Apart from targeted sanctions, the Yanks have also hammered Venezuela with sectoral coercive measures, crippling banking, mining, and, most importantly, the oil industry. Analysts and multilateral organizations have bashed Washington for the destructive impact these sanctions have on the Venezuelan economy and human rights.
This new round of sanctions came hot on the heels of the Biden administration throwing its weight behind the hardline opposition's victory claims in the dusty July 28 presidential elections.
The CNE declared Maduro the winner, scooping 52percent of the vote, a claim that was later rubber-stamped following a Supreme Court review. Maduro's innings for the presidency extend through January 10, 2031. However, the CNE didn't spill the beans on the customary detailed voting breakdown.
The opposition, led by the far-right Maria Corina Machado, refused to play ball and insisted that former candidate Edmundo González was the big winner. The US and allies such as Argentina and Chile have supported the opposition's stance and thumbed their noses at the official results.
On the flip side, Russia, China, and other countries in the ALBA alliance have given Maduro a pat on the back and slammed foreign meddling in Venezuelan affairs.
The heat between Caracas and Madrid's rising
The dust hasn't even settled from July 28, but it seems Venezuela and Spain are feeling friendlier than a couple of mongoose sparring in a sack.
On Friday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil announced that he's sending his ambassador to Spain, Gladys Gutierrez, back to Caracas for consultation. Gil also called Spanish ambassador to Venezuela, Ramon Santos Martinez, for a sit-down on Friday afternoon.
In a social media post, Gil revealed that he told Santos Martinez that Caracas wouldn't stand for "fucking meddling" from Madrid and would guard its sovereignty – it's all fun and games until someone gets shanked by international law, eh?
The latest tear in the relationship was caused by a comment by Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles, who labeled Venezuela a "dictatorship."
Earlier in the week, the Venezuelan National Assembly also flirted with the idea of axing diplomatic relations with Spain, with Parliament's President, Jorge Rodriguez, urging the government to cut all ties with the European country, including commercial deals and direct flights.
Rodriguez's request followed a symbolic vote by the Spanish Congress of Deputies, which recognized Gonzalez as the winner of Venezuela's election and requested that Pedro Sanchez's government do the same. Sanchez, however, insisted that his administration would stick to the common European Union position, ignoring the petition, and emphasized that the EU would not accept the results without a "transparent verification" of electoral records.
The friction between the two countries comes hot on the heels of Gonzalez's immigration to Spain. Despite the existence of an arrest warrant on charges of usurpation of functions and forgery, the Maduro regime granted the former diplomat safe passage to jet off.
- The escalating tension between Venezuela and Spain is causing a stir in global politics, with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil announcing the recall of ambassador Gladys Gutierrez for consultations, after a meeting with Spanish ambassador Ramon Santos Martinez.
- The disagreement originated from a comment by Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles, who labeled Venezuela as a "dictatorship," which was met with strong rebuke from Caracas.
- The Venezuelan National Assembly also threw its weight behind the matter, debating the possibility of axing diplomatic relations with Spain, as Parliament's President, Jorge Rodriguez, called for the termination of all ties, including commercial deals and direct flights.
- This latest diplomatic spat between the two countries follows Gonzalez's immigration to Spain, where he was granted safe passage despite an arrest warrant for charges of usurpation of functions and forgery issued by the Maduro regime.
- The overall tension between the two nations is striking a chord in general news and politics, as well as crime and justice, and it remains to be seen if this war-and-conflicts-induced policy-and-legislation trend continues, potentially affecting migration and stability in both countries.
