Cuba Rejects Exclusion of Venezuela from Summit of Americas

Cuba rejected the declarations made by the so-called Lima group against Venezuela as well as the decision to deny it the participation in the Summit of the Americas to be held next April in Peru, the Cuban foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday evening.

RELATED:
Evo Morales: 'Unasur Must Reinforce Venezuelan Sovereignty'

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba strongly condemns the pronouncement of a group of countries of the hemisphere issued on Feb. 13 in Lima, which constitutes an unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,” read the statement published on the Cuban newspaper Granma.

The statement further touched on how just days ago the Secretary of State of the United States Rex Tillerson called for a military coup against the elected venezuelan government of Nicolas Maduro.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba recalls, in this context, the arbitrary and aggressive executive order of the United States, renewed in January 2017, which qualifies Venezuela as ‘an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy’ of the superpower, and President Donald Trump's most recent admonition to use ‘a possible military option if necessary’ against” Venezuela, the statement added drawing a connection between such decisions and the latest hostility by U.S: government allies in the region.

Such statements, the Cuban ministry said, come despite Venezuela having several elections over the past few months including municipal and regional elections as well as announcing the upcoming presidential elections in April 22.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs ratifies the invariable solidarity of Cuba with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and with the civic-military union of its people led by the constitutional President Nicolas Maduro Moros,” the statement said and warned that “those who seek to overthrow the Bolivarian and Chavista Revolution through unconstitutional, violent and coup-driven means will assume a serious responsibility towards history.”