Venezuela committed

Chargé d’ Affaires at the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Alvaro Sanchez is confident that a recent meeting between Prime Minister the Hon. Mia Amor Mottley and Venezuela’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Caribbean Affairs, Raul Licausi will mark a new beginning in the two countries’ relations.

This he told Heads of Mission and other representatives of the Diplomatic Corps gathered for his welcome reception and the 207th Anniversary of the Independence of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, held at the Horatio Cooke Complex, National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) Headquarters, on Thursday night.

Next year, Venezuela and Barbados will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, and according to the new Chargé d’ Affaires, this will be a great opportunity to work comprehensively towards more cooperation and integration.

Moreover, he signaled his country’s commitment to continue and reinforce its public diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, peace diplomacy and most importantly, people’s diplomacy through the Venezuelan Institute for Culture and Cooperation (IVCC) in Barbados.

“Also, as early as Last Friday, June 29, Venezuela and Barbados, along with seven other countries, were elected as members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child of the United Nations. Both Venezuela and Barbados supported each other
on the election to this important committee in charge of monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by its State parties.”

“Undoubtedly, contrary to smears and slanderous media campaigns against our country, Venezuela stands firm for the defence and promotion of human rights,” he assured.

“Likewise, Venezuela fully supports CARICOM efforts to rightfully obtain reparation for descendants of enslaved people. On March 24, 2018 on the occasion of the 164th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro subscribed the decree that formalised the beginning in Venezuela of the International Decade for People of African Descent, as proclaimed by the United Nations.”

Regarding Venezuela’s political situation, Sanchez said that President Maduro’s May 20th re-election by over 60 per cent of the vote to a new six-year term in office was “The 24th democratic, free and fair election that has taken place in Venezuela in the past 20 years.”

He recalled that just like in his previous presidential term, President Maduro has once again called on the Opposition to seriously engage in political dialogue and conversation, as former Spanish president Rodriguez Zapatero, as well as Dominican President Danilo Medina and the Vatican have repeatedly stated.

“Unfortunately, our political victories have come with a price tag. This is mainly due to foreign interventions, meddling and illegal and unilateral sanctions that are taking a toll on all Venezuelans alike on a daily basis,” he stressed.

“We are suffering from a protracted economic welfare, aiming at regime change, in the same fashion as the one suffered for many years by our brothers and sisters in Cuba, as well as in Chile during the Government of Salvador Allende.”

“We are ultimately facing real threats against our democracy and our independence. However, just like Simon Bolivar and Francisco de Miranda, before us, we will keep our heads up and defend our sovereignty. It is simply in our DNA,” said the Chargé d’ Affaires. (TL)