Karaka
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Venezuela does not seek military conflict with the US or other regional actors, its Foreign Minister Ivan Gill told CNN in a rare interview as tensions with Washington, including the recent deadly US Navy strike on a vessel carrying drugs in the Caribbean.
“We have no bets on conflicts and we do not want them,” Gill said in an interview with Casa Amarilla, Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry headquarters in Caracas on Monday.
The relationship between the US and Venezuela has long been unstable. But that has become particularly difficult under two administrations of President Donald Trump, who won hardliness against his opponent, Nicolas Maduro, including recognizing the country’s opposition leader after a widely criticised election.
CNN interviewed GIL that the US military ships deployed in the Caribbean, after Washington doubled the double in compensation for Maduro’s arrest to $50 million.
And on Tuesday, September 2nd, the US took a fatal strike on a speedboat, departing from Venezuela carrying drugs in international waters, promoting suspicions that Washington was trying to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro’s administration.
Maduro then mobilized about 4.5 million militias to protect the country in response to what he calls “imperialism.”
He ruled out a military escalation of tensions, but the Venezuelan foreign minister said his country is ready to stop any possible threats.
“We are ready to stop the deployment and we are denying the possibility of conflict because we have a clear determination to protect our homeland,” he said.
CNN asked Gill why it is asking the UN Human Rights Council to investigate the ship’s targets when the Venezuelan government called the body “two sides” over multiple condemnations of Venezuela’s own human rights records.
In response, Gill admitted that Venezuela had never “never questioned” the defense of human rights, but that Venezuela had “criticized the actions of several bureaucrats” in the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
OHCHR, the United States and other countries have accused the Maduro government of political enemies, domestic human rights abuses and frequent oppression of weakening democracy.
Gill said at this point it is “not appropriate” to talk about the potential military alliances with other Latin American countries and regions.
In this regard, Gill mentioned the status of the Latin America and the Caribbean (CELAC) community, which recently expressed “deep concerns” about military deployments in the region.
“The Latin America and the Caribbean (CELAC) communities have issued a corporate category statement calling for respect for the peace zone ordered in 2014,” he said.
Among the US assets deployed in the Caribbean are nuclear-powered submarines that are not equipped with nuclear weapons, but authorities previously told CNN.
Regarding the US strike on the boat where the Pentagon said it was carrying drugs, Gill said it was not clear in his opinion what had happened.
“They (US officials) showed us the video without making much clarity. It’s not clear where it was, who was on board, or whether it actually happened.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended President Donald Trump’s order to destroy the boat, warning that the strategy would “come again” instead of intercepting the suspicious ship.
“The US has been intervening with established technology for a long time and using boards via drug trafficking boats. But it won’t work because we know that these drug cartels will lose 2% of their cargo. It’s when they stop them, if they destroy the boat,” the Secretary of State said.
“The same intelligence mechanism was used to determine that the drug trafficking boat was heading to the US and, at the president’s order, destroyed instead of intercepting it. And that happens again,” he added.
The Venezuelan Foreign Minister said the Washington story of the incident “attempts to justify illegal activities.”
Legal experts and Congressional sources previously told CNN that the Trump administration has previously hit lawmakers and provided a public justification misshmash that raises serious questions about the legality of strikes.
Rubio previously told CNN: “I’m not going to speak for White House lawyers. It’s enough to say that all these measures have been taken in advance.”
Gill also rejected recent accusations from the Trump administration that Maduro is the leader of the Sands cartel.
“It’s totally wrong that the Venezuelan state or its leaders have even minor connections to drug trafficking,” Gill said, accusing the accusations to American political groups seeking to put pressure on the Maduro government.
“A story is being built in the US by the staff surrounding President Trump, trying to link us to drug trafficking. As a Latinas, I am worried that this story is about to be imposed,” he said.
“In cooperation with the state of Columbia, more than 25,000 staff will be deployed on the border with Colombia to combat drug trafficking,” he told CNN.
The current solution to the tensions between the US and Venezuela must be political, Gill said, reiterating that the future path is dialogue. He also reflected Maduro’s statement regarding the existence of “damaged” but open communications channels.
“After sending eight ships to destroy the rocks, let them (US) ask themselves if it’s worth it.
