Addressing the UN Security Council, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza has said that the trucks supposedly carrying humanitarian supplies to Venezuela were also loaded with nails and wire, showing photos of seized cargo.
The opposition-led and US-backed operation to drive trucks with humanitarian aid over the Colombia-Venezuela border led to violent scuffles, which saw many police officers injured and several trucks set on fire.
Denouncing the botched delivery as a “well-orchestrated operation to violate the territory of Venezuela,” Arreaza has presented what he called the evidence of the US-led effort being a Trojan horse, aimed at inciting a coup.
“And let me tell you, when the trucks were inspected, it turned out that there was not just food and medicine in the trucks, but there was equipment for barricades. There were nails, wire and so on and so forth. And this is what is used by the opposition in Venezuela,” Arreaza said, showing the photos of what looked like piles of heavy wire lying on the ground.
Arreaza said that Caracas also has video proof that can be viewed by all those interested.
Praising the Venezuelan army and police response to the attempt to smuggle in the “aid,” he said that it was “the latest chapter of the coup” that has “failed.”
Arreaza has also came down on Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), who has been tweeting strong-worded statements zealously promoting regime change in Venezuela.
However, it was an uncaptioned tweet by Rubio that has drawn most traction online, being slammed as a thinly-veiled death threat against the Venezuelan president.
The tweet posted by Rubio on Sunday is an image of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi as he was about to be lynched by a mob of US-backed opposition fighters.
Arreaza said that Rubio’s open call for violence is incompatible with the American values, since the US prides itself as being the paragon of democracy.
“He is representing the people of the United States and the people of Florida. These are the values of the people of the United States? To call for the killing of the president? Because in this context it is obviously what this picture means.”
Rubio’s and other Trump administration officials’ push for a military upheaval in Venezuela could be part of Trump’s reelection strategy, Arreaza suggested.
“They use foreign policy for [US President Donald] Trump to ensure that he will be nominated in Florida,” he said, noting that having run a scandal-ridden campaign so far Trump has to do something “to maintain his integrity as a president.”
“So, perhaps, they come up with a military operation in Venezuela?”
Arreaza said that Caracas is willing to sit down with whatever representative the opposition sends, including self-proclaimed US-backed ‘interim president’ Juan Guaido himself.
“We are waiting to see the members of the Venezuelan opposition. Mr. Guaido, whoever else, they will decide who will sit down with the constitutional government of Venezuela. And then we can build our own solution without intervention, interference from anyone, much less the United States.”
Caracas could only “hope” that handlers in Washington would give Guaido their “authorization” to resolve the crisis through “dialog and negotiations.” Arreaza said Venezuela is open to mediation from Latin American counties, as well as from the EU, and looks forward to talks “without agenda.” The Venezuelan top diplomat did not rule out snap elections as one of the ways to resolve the stalemate.
“There are elections, maybe, or there are other possible solutions, maybe.”
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