US militarizing intl. ties, punishing millions: Venezuela

Venezuela's vice president says the US is imposing a new type of “state terrorism” on millions of people around the world.

Executive Vice President Delcy Rodriguez denounced the recognition of opposition figure Juan Guaido by Washington and its allies as the “worst mistake in the diplomatic history of these countries.” 

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Rodriguez condemned Washington for punishing millions of people across the world by imposing sanctions on them.

“The [US] Treasury Department, the economic Pentagon, is militarizing international relations and punishing millions of people,” she said.

Rodriguez explained that sanctions “focused on strangling the Venezuelan economy” had cost the oil-rich country $130 billion between 2015 and 2018.

She told the assembly that she came on “behalf of the only Venezuela,” referring to a delegation sent by Guaido to the annual gathering of world leaders.

Rodriguez called Guaido an “artifice” of the United States.

SS