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Venezuela’s Maduro tweets to Trump, urges ‘dialog’

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a press conference with international media correspondents at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, on February 15, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has challenged US President Donald Trump to arrange dialog between their two countries, which have had increasingly adversarial relations in the recent past.

“@RealDonaldTrump campaigned pledging to promote non-interference in the domestic affairs of other countries. It’s time to keep your pledge,” Maduro on Monday wrote on Twitter, Trump’s favorite medium.

He asked the US president to arrange a meeting between the two countries either in Washington or Caracas.

He did not elaborate.

Relations between Caracas and Washington have recently worsened. American officials claim the Maduro government is dictatorial, and Venezuelan officials claim the US government seeks to strangle the Venezuelan economy or bring about a regime change.

Maduro and other government officials have recently accused Washington of planning to invade Venezuela from neighboring Colombia. That accusation came after Colombia reinforced its border controls with Venezuela to stem an increasing flow of Venezuelan people fleeing economic hardship in their own country. It also came after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson raised the prospect of a military coup to oust the Venezuelan president during a February 1 speech at the University of Texas before starting a tour of Latin America.

While claiming that Washington was not trying to implement a policy of “regime change” in Venezuela, Tillerson called on Maduro to leave power on his own. He further predicted that there would be some kind of change in Caracas, insisting that the US wanted it to be a peaceful one.

“If the kitchen gets a little too hot for him, I am sure that he’s got some friends over in Cuba that could give him a nice hacienda on the beach and he could have a nice life over there,” Tillerson said, referring to Maduro's close ties with the Cuban government.

Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab alleged last week that Washington was preparing for a “military invasion” of the country, saying, “The military bombing, the military invasion, the blood and fire occupation of a peaceful country like Venezuela are being planned.”

Additionally, Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino has blasted Tillerson’s remarks.

Speaking during a broadcast on state television, Padrino said Tillerson’s five-nation Latin America tour was aimed at encouraging regional “intervention” against the Venezuelan government.

He said Washington was intent on undermining democracy in Latin America and returning it to the days of “imperialism.”

During his Latin American tour, Tillerson also raised the possibility of imposing sanctions on Venezuela’s oil exports, the source of 96 percent of the country’s revenues.

Venezuela is the third-largest oil provider to the US. Last year, American imports of Venezuelan crude oil in the first six months stood at nearly 655,000 barrels per day, about 7.5 percent of its overall imports.

Washington has already slapped financial sanctions on Venezuela, forbidding American citizens and companies to negotiate debt issued by the Caracas government and the state oil company PDVSA.

Venezuela, which sits atop the world’s largest oil reserves, has been struggling with a worsening economic situation during the past years, causing the civilian cross-border journeys into Colombia to purchase basic commodities and foodstuffs.

A political crisis has also ensued. Some 129 people died in political violence in Venezuela in recent months. Talks between the government and opposition also recently broke down.

Meanwhile, Maduro has vowed to take part in the Summit of the Americas due to be held in the Peruvian capital of Lima in April, which Trump will also be attending. However, the Peruvian government has announced that it will not allow Maduro to attend, on the alleged grounds that he has broken with his nation’s “democratic institutional order.”


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