CARACAS, August 16. /TASS/. The United States has been conducting the policy of interference into other states’ sovereign affairs, including by trying "to become the executive branch of Venezuela," Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro told Venezolana de Television in an interview.
"I absolutely reject the US attempt to become the executive branch of Venezuela or of any other country in the world," he said, accusing the US of pursuing "the imperialistic policy of interference" and advising Washington "to tackle its numerous domestic problems" instead.
He said that US President Joe Biden’s statement on re-election in Venezuela, made on Thursday, "was refuted by the Department of State half an hour later," asking rhetorically: "Who exactly governs the US?"
Commenting on Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s public remarks on the issue, Maduro said he was not planning to engage in "microphone diplomacy."
On July 28, Venezuela held a presidential election. According to the National Electoral Council’s bulletin issued after counting 80% of ballots, Maduro was supported by 5,150,092 voters, or 51.2%. His rival, Edmundo Gonzalez of the far-right parties, scored 4,445,978 votes, or 44.2%. Opposition leader Corina Machado did not recognize the election results, alleging election fraud, and proclaimed Gonzalez the winner.
Russia, Bolivia, Honduras, Iran, China, Cuba and Nicaragua have congratulated Maduro on his presidential win. Meanwhile, a number of countries, including Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Uruguay and Chile, refused to recognize Maduro’s re-election. The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry announced a move to recall its diplomats from these countries and demanded a reciprocal step from them.