Washington uses Colombia for ‘cheap tricks’ against Venezuela
CARACAS – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was accused by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza of using tensions on the Colombian border to carry out an advertising maneuver as part of a defamatory campaign against Caracas.
The Colombian city of Cúcuta, located near the border with Venezuela, has been transformed by the US and Colombia into a “regular stage for its most decadent and cheap spectacles,” Arreaza tweeted on Sunday in response to Pompey’s visit to the region.
“Confirmed !: Washington and Bogota ratify Cúcuta as the usual scenario of their most decadent and cheap shows. The adulation and servility show of today with @ SecPompeo , is an anthology. Meanwhile, the abandoned town of Cúcuta lives on the Venezuelan economy,” he said.
¡Confirmado!: Washington y Bogotá ratifican a Cúcuta como escenario habitual de sus más decadentes y baratos espectáculos. El show de adulación y servilismo de hoy con @SecPompeo, es de antología. Mientras tanto, el abandonado pueblo de Cúcuta vive de la economía venezolana
— Jorge Arreaza M (@jaarreaza) April 14, 2019
“The level of cynicism of @ SecPompeo is too shameless . The consequences of the criminal blockade of his government against Venezuela are unquantifiable. It has generated death, suffering and need. And with his face so washed, he insists on the false humanitarian aid of the Cucuta show,” the chancellor continued on Twitter.
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Es demasiado descarado el nivel de cinismo de @SecPompeo. Las consecuencias del bloqueo criminal de su gobierno contra Venezuela son incuantificables. Ha generado muerte, sufrimiento y necesidad. Y con su cara tan lavada, insiste en la falsa ayuda humanitaria del show de Cúcuta https://t.co/SLHViOer58
— Jorge Arreaza M (@jaarreaza) April 15, 2019
Rampage at the border was also exacerbated by opposition efforts to bring trucks laden with US-sponsored aid to Venezuela, whose deliveries were denied by officials who called it a “public relations maneuver” movement.
During his stay in Cúcuta, Pompeo met with a group of Venezuelan migrants and once again asked Caracas to accept American “humanitarian aid.” The Bolivarian country has stated that it will only accept aid sponsored by the UN and global humanitarian aid organizations such as the Red Cross.
On Sunday, Pompeo criticized Maduro further, saying that the US will continue to use all economic and political means available to help the Venezuelan people, mentioning economic sanctions and visa revocation for Venezuelan officials to pressure the government to succumb to the opposition.
Washington openly supports opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who has declared himself interim president of Venezuela on January 23. Meanwhile, Maduro promised to continue defending the nation’s sovereignty against any foreign attack, receiving support from Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia, Iran and Turkey, among other countries.
