The UK Must Keep Its Hands Off Latin America: President Maduro

On Monday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro demanded that the United Kingdom authorities "take their hands off" Latin America and rejected the visit to Guyana of David Rutley, the British Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Americas and Caribbean.

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"That is the custom of those ancient empires. They believe they are owners of their former colonies. They were the ones who fraudulently robbed and dispossessed Venezuela of our Guayana Esequiba," he said during the TV program "With Maduro +."

"The decadent British empire, defunct as it is, puts its dirty hands into a matter that does not concern it," the Bolivarian leader emphasized.

Maduro also reiterated his intention to recover Guayana Esequiba, the territory of almost 160,000 square kilometers in dispute with Guyana.

"Sooner rather than later, Venezuela will recover its historical rights over our Guayana Esequiba,” he said.

Commenting on the meeting with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali held in Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Maduro indicated that the Venezuela-Guyana joint statement commits both parties to avoid incidents that lead to tensions.

Last week, Venezuela and Guyana agreed to hold a meeting in Brazil in the next three months, or "at another agreed time", to address any issues related to the Essequibo territory.