Venezuela’s Maduro Rebukes US SOUTHCOM Chief for Interfering in Internal Affairs [View all]

[polly7]

by Lucas Koerner

November 1st, 2015

CARACAS – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro firmly rejected recent statements by US Southern Command Chief John Kelly on Tuesday, which he dismissed as unacceptable interference in the South American nation’s internal affairs.

Speaking on CNN Español, the head of US military operations in Central and South America and the Caribbean described Venezuela as on the brink of “implosion” due to “inflation” and “drug trafficking” and expressed willingness to provide assistance in the event of a “humanitarian crisis”.

President Maduro hit back at the US general during his weekly television program, challenging the Pentagon’s double standards in expressing humanitarian “concern” for Venezuela while actively waging wars in other parts of the world.

“What right does he [Kelly] have to comment on Venezuela?”, Maduro exclaimed, advising the general to “dedicate the time you spend thinking about Venezuela to the people you have ordered to be killed in Libya, Syria, Pakistan.”

Referring to the US general’s allegations of Venezuelan impunity towards cross-border drug trafficking, the Bolivarian leader lashed out at Washington’s “war on drugs”, which he termed a “great failure”.

“Who is the king of drug trafficking in the world, general Kelly? The DEA. Who is the worldwide promoter of drug culture? Who is the great failure in the fight against drug trafficking in the world? The United States.”

Earlier this year, the Obama administration enacted a series of sanctions against Bolivarian officials, culminating in an executive order branding Venezuela an “unusual and extraordinary threat”, which in turn precipitated a global backlash.

Full article: http://dissidentvoice.org/2015/11/venezuelas-maduro-rebukes-us-southcom-chief-for-interfering-in-internal-affairs/