Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro Claims Guyana and UK Are Mocking His Country Amid Essequibo Standoff

Nicolas Maduro, the dictator and president of Venezuela, sat down for an interview and claimed that Guyana and the UK are mocking him as the Essequibo territorial dispute continues, and the two countries are holding military exercises amid fears that Venezuela would try and annex the oil-rich Essequibo region.

Maduro also claimed that Guyana President Ifraan Ali was not just mocking Venezuela but also the other regional multilateral organizations who sponsored the meeting the two countries had over at St Vincent and the Grenadines, where both sides agreed to settle the Essequibo dispute peacefully.

"We are going through a moment of turbulence," he said in the interview, accusing Guyana of "not acting as the Cooperative Republic of Guyana" but "as 'British Guyana', [when] accepting that a warship goes to its coasts and from its coasts threatens Venezuela," in addition to "impertinent, insolent statements of the British Foreign Ministry."

He blasted Ali further, saying that the Guyanese president "acts like a president of a colonial British Guyana" and that "He is acting like a country that is in bondage, subjugated. I do not accept his excuses, I do not accept them!"

The Venezuelan strongman has been raging against the UK's sending of warship HMS Trent to Guyana for some military exercises with its former colony. Despite the two sides agreeing to settle the dispute peacefully, Venezuelan troops are still at the border with Guyana, stoking fears of annexation.

Nicolas Maduro Also Accuses Former Colombia President of Trying To Assassinate Key Ally

Nicolas Maduro did not just rant about Guyana and the United Kingdom, but also a former Colombian president as he accused Ivan Duque of ordering the death of former Colombian diplomat and close friend of Maduro, Alex Saab, who was recently freed by the United States in a prisoner swap.

"Two days before they had tried to kill him. That has never been said. Two days before, a group of criminals hired by Iván Duque from Colombia tried to kill Alex Saab in his house in Caracas. He miraculously saved his life," Maduro claimed in an interview with Le Monde Diplomatique.

"Then he, with the drive that carries him, because he is an enterprising man, of drive, of initiative, I would say reckless, I would tell you that Alex Saab has the temerity of a Che Guevara to face risks and dangers, he was. He was going to Iran. Why was he going to Iran? To guarantee gasoline for a year for Venezuela, 2020, 2021, while we recovered the refinery," he continued. "Why was he going to Iran? To get triangulated medicines from Iran. And on the way they capture him, they kidnap him without any type of element."

Guyana Gets UN Security Council Seat as Venezuela Territorial Row Simmers

As Maduro continues his rants, Guyana, meanwhile, has received a seat at the UN Security Council. The South American country, officially recognized as the true owner of the Essequibo region by the UN itself, will serve in the Security Council for two years as a non-permanent member, according to News Source.

"Guyana will be constructive in our approach to the work of the Council, fully committed to the partnerships for the peace and prosperity of the world's people. We will seek a people-centered approach, including the involvement of women and youth in the search for solutions," said Guyana Ambassador to the UN Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett.

Guyana joins Algeria, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, and Slovenia as the new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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