Venezuela Condemns US Interventionist Statements on July 28 Presidential Elections (+Qatar Agreement)
Orinoco Tribune, August 3, 2024 —
Venezuela condemned the serious interventionist statements made by the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, adding that “the government of the United States is at the forefront of the attempted coup d’état against Venezuela.”
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil published the Venezuelan government’s statement on Friday, August 2, pointing out that Blinken’s statements promote a violent coup agenda against the Venezuelan people and State institutions.
The Venezuelan statement comes in response to the United States declaring the far-right candidate Edmundo González the winner of the July 28 presidential election, thus starting the second attempt of the “Guaidó project.”
On Thursday, August 1, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed that the alleged triumph of González was “clear” to the Biden administration and the Venezuelan people.
“We fully support the process of restoring democratic norms in Venezuela and stand ready to consider ways to strengthen it together with our international partners,” he declared.
Venezuela deplored the perverse maneuver that, “using lies and manipulation through the great powers of global communication, including social media, is trying to generate a false narrative that leads to violent acts committed by criminal groups and fascist organizations.”
The document added that Venezuelan institutions have acted properly to preserve peace and national sovereignty.
The statement also emphasized that no attempts to undermine Venezuelan democracy will succeed and that the Venezuelan people know how to face any challenge coming from imperialism.
The unofficial translation of the Venezuelan statement is presented below:
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela condemns the serious and even more ridiculous statements attributed to the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, in which he intends to assume the role of the Venezuelan Electoral Power, demonstrating that the Government of the United States is at the forefront of the coup d’état that is being attempted against Venezuela, promoting a violent agenda against the Venezuelan people and institutions.
Venezuela deplores before the international community, governments, and social movements of the world this perverse maneuver that, using lies and manipulation through the great powers of global communication, including social media, is trying to generate a false narrative that leads to violent acts committed by criminal groups and fascist organizations that call themselves “comanditos,” which have been attempting to cause terror in the civilian population and have attacked communities, trying to impose a fiction against the majority will of the Venezuelan people.
Venezuelan institutions, enshrined in the Bolivarian Constitution, have acted properly to preserve national and popular sovereignty. Venezuelan democracy is among the most robust in the world, and no attempt to undermine it will succeed. The United States Government has tried unsuccessfully, for 25 years, to overthrow the Venezuelan government. They have not been able to do so, nor will they be able to do so. All their attempts will fail before the resolution of a people who, with dignity, are fighting every day, building a path towards progress, defeating aggressions and criminal sanctions.
The Venezuelan people spoke, exercised their right, and reiterated their unrenounceable path of sovereignty, peace, and the construction of socialism to guarantee the greatest happiness. Following the path traced by Commander Hugo Chávez, the Venezuelan people know how to face any challenge from imperialism since, paraphrasing the Liberator Simón Bolívar, “fortunately, a handful of free people have often been able to defeat powerful empires. We will win!
Caracas, August 2, 2024
President Maduro: Any dialogue with the US will be based on compliance with the Qatar Agreement
On Thursday, August 1, President Nicolás Maduro released the full text of the Qatar Agreement between Venezuela and the United States.
Demonstrating his willingness to engage in dialogue with the US government as long as Venezuela’s sovereignty is respected and the country is no longer threatened, President Maduro emphasized that any future talks must be based on a single point, “Compliance with the Qatar Agreement.”
This memorandum of understanding, which both countries signed on September 28, 2023, mandates the establishment of a roadmap for the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries. It also contemplates the commitments of the US government to issue licenses aimed at facilitating the payment of the PetroCaribe debts of Haiti, Belize, and the Dominican Republic to Venezuela, as well as specific licenses for the operation of foreign oil companies in Venezuelan territory.
As for the commitments of the Venezuelan side, the document states, “Before the end of the first four months of 2024, the Venezuelan Electoral Power is expected to announce the presidential electoral schedule and invite the technical missions of electoral observation.” Venezuelan authorities have already complied with this commitment.
Regarding the postelectoral steps, the agreement establishes that the US will commit to lifting all unilateral coercive measures imposed on Venezuela and unblocking Venezuelan State assets frozen in the US. It must also revoke the “Executive Order that declared this emergency in accordance with US law, and the two parties will normalize diplomatic and consular relations.”