The United States denounced the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday for suppressing protests and called for free elections, saying that he must not be allowed to follow a “dictatorship” path like Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. The Maduro government calls the protesters violent coup-mongers, supported by the United States. “This is an economic, political and humanitarian crisis that demands the world’s attention,” Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told a U.S.-hosted panel of Venezuelan activists and experts held on the sidelines of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.
“The Venezuelan government is in the midst of destroying human rights and democracy in Venezuela. It is conducting a campaign of violence and intimidation against unarmed demonstrators, businesses, civil society and freely elected political opposition,” she said.
But Jorge Valero, Venezuela ambassador, told the Council that Venezuelans enjoyed fundamental freedoms, adding: “This (U.S.) government has no moral authority to set itself up as a universal judge of human rights.”
Full Article: U.S. denounces Venezuela for repression, demands free elections | Reuters.