Venezuela, US clash at OAS General Assembly (Roundup)

Americas News

Jun 3, 2008, 21:15 GMT

Medellin, Colombia - Venezuela and the United States clashed strongly Tuesday at the annual meeting of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) in the Colombian city of Medellin. Both countries accused each other of harbouring terrorists, and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro called US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte a 'petty official with a criminal record.' Maduro accused Negroponte of being 'responsible for disappearances, for tortures and for deaths in Central America and in several parts of the world.' He further called him a 'character of the worst kind.' Maduro's remarks followed comments by Negroponte on Monday calling upon Venezuela to actively combat the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) that 'have sought sanctuary' in its territory. US ambassador to the OAS, Hector Morales, said Tuesday that he had not seen a Venezuelan condemnation of terrorism, and the Venezuelan minister immediately replied that the US should extradite Luis Posada Carriles to Venezuela if it is so concerned about combatting terrorism. Posada Carriles, 80, is accused by Havana and Caracas of the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner which killed 73 people, and other deadly attacks. He was convicted in Venezuela of being one of the masterminds of the bombing, but escaped from prison after eight years and joined US-directed covert counterinsurgency operations in Central America. He entered the US illegally in 2005, and was detained by US officials. But the US refused extradition requests from Cuba and Venezuela, and in 2007 dropped charges against him on immigration fraud. Washington has labelled FARC a terrorist group, and Morales had called upon Venezuela to comment on countries' obligation to cooperate with their neighbours in fighting terrorists. 'If the US government says it wants to combat terrorism, let it immediately capture Luis Posada Carriles and hand him over to Venezuelan Justice so that his trial can conclude,' Maduro said. He asked OAS 'to watch the conduct of the US government as it protects a well-known, convicted and self-declared terrorist that has committed tremendous crimes' against Venezuela. 'OAS governments must know that this terrorist is free, protected by the United States government in Florida,' he insisted. Earlier, Maduro accused Negroponte of seeking to 'drive the wedge of intrigue' at the Medellin gathering and to determine the agenda of the meeting. The Venezuelan minister interpreted that the United States was upset about a meeting that Maduro held Monday with Colombian Foreign Minister Fernando Araujo, who sought to revamp bilateral ties between the neighbours following a severe diplomatic crisis prompted by a Colombian cross-border raid against a FARC camp in Ecuador. 'This petty official has no moral quality to talk about any issues in our continent, and neither does the United States,' Maduro complained. He went as far as to say the US government is 'behind the political operation, the show that is being staged around the computers' found in the raid on March 1. Colombian officials have alleged the computers contain information tieing the Venezuelan government to FARC. The raid has been a constant topic at the general assembly meeting, which started Sunday and was set to end Tuesday. 'We call on the conscience of the Colombian people, of the Colombian government, to realize that behind this campaign there is only one objective: to divide us, to confront us against each other, to create a conflict,' Maduro said.

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NoharnessJun 3rd, 2008 - 21:34:08

Another fine example of American petro-dollars hard at work! Don't it make you proud?

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NoharmnessJun 4th, 2008 - 08:22:11

Oil money may fund terrorists!

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YragJun 4th, 2008 - 22:04:32

He called 'Negroponte a 'petty official with a criminal record...'

This also happens to be the case with the entire buShit turdly bunch

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SP4: Well Yrag...Jun 4th, 2008 - 23:13:59

...perhaps, but Chavez is not interested in anyone's freedom, dickhead.

Bush has spent 7 years killing or capturing some of the worst terrorists on earth. He off'ed Saddam, Got Quaddaffi to deal, and has Kim in a box. He as put a cap in countless Al Qaeda asses. Bush has paid a real price for putting foot to ass for his nation, and the security of other nations, and just thumbs his nose at his detractors.

He has stood off and axposed Chavez and confronted these two bit dictators you seem to like for two terms.

He is the bucket and mop boy for the worlds so-called democracies who mouth freedom while sucking the juice of security from the citizens of the United States. Now, perhaps, he hosed the war in Iraq, but we have won real victories, and Saddam's gone, so suck on that when you say his name.

That being the case, Yrag, I think we can file your commments under the you-are-a-little-more-than-full of crap category.

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johnJun 5th, 2008 - 12:07:58

it is truly amazing how many stick up for Chavez while he rapes his own people.

the real story is how his ministers are following the same script as Mugabe and Ahmadinejad: scream loud and throw as many false accusations as possible. It might distract some...

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juhaJun 6th, 2008 - 14:34:13

freedom of speech is good for Hugo as long as he can make the speech and know one else can. Under the guise of helping the poor, he masks his dictorship powers. 10 years on, entrenched in power his party will be cubanesque and crush opposing voices, using the same lame excuse all dictators do.

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