UN, March 1. /TASS/. Venezuela’s UN envoy, Samuel Moncada, demanded on Thursday that UN Security Council members condemned any use of force against his country, calling US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams the main coordinator of anti-Venezuelan policies.
"We demand the Security Council to make a clear statement condemning and prohibiting the use of military force in all its manifestations against Venezuela," he said. "Even as we speak, the United States are attempting to equip mercenary groups for military actions and to hold a colonial operation under the pretext of humanitarian assistance. We demand adherence to principles of the UN Charter, in particular respect to independence, territorial integrity and non-interference into domestic affairs. First of all, we demand the Security Council to respect our right for peace."
"Even if threats to the peace in Venezuela exist, they come from the outside," he continued. "We would like to remind you that there is a military threat to Venezuela. That is why the United Kingdom has sent its ship which is currently 80 kilometers away from our coast, and the United States deployed its forces to the Colombian territory next to our borders."
He also accused Washington of "fabricating reports about the number of deserters from the Venezuelan armed forces in order to create a Venezuela liberation army on the Colombian territory."
Guaido's fate
The fate of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido will be decided by the country’s Supreme Court when he returns back to his homeland, Moncada said.
"Venezuela has its own institutions, we have the Supreme Court, and it is up to the Supreme Court to decide on the matter," he said.
Meanwhile, US Special Envoy for Venezuela Elliot Abrams vowed support for the Venezuelan opposition leader, threatening the government with international response if Guaido is arrested upon returning to the country.
Earlier, the Supreme Court prohibited Guaido from leaving the country. However, the opposition leader travelled to the Colombian city of Cucuta on the border with Venezuela on February 22 to oversee the delivery of humanitarian aid. After taking part in a Lima Group meeting in the Peruvian capital of Bogota, he said he would return to Venezuela this week.
On Wednesday, Venezuela’s opposition-controlled parliament, the National Assembly, permitted Guaido to spend abroad "five days or more, starting from February 23."
Venezuelan crisis
On January 23, Juan Guaido, whose appointment as parliamentary speaker had been annulled by the Supreme Court two days earlier, declared himself as acting president. On the same day, Washington recognized him as acting head of state, as did the Lima Group countries (barring Mexico), the Organization of American States, and a number of other nations among them such as, Australia, Albania, Georgia and Israel. President Nicolas Maduro blasted the developments as an attempted coup.
In contrast, Russia, Belarus, Bolivia, Iran, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Turkey came out in Maduro’s support. The UN secretary-general called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.