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Venezuela has condemned what it calls ‘fresh interference’ from Spain in its domestic affairs, accusing the European country of kowtowing to political pressure from the United States.
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Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza Tuesday accused Alfonso Dastis, the minister of foreign affairs and cooperation of Spain, of demonstrating the "shameful subordination of the Spanish government to the Trump administration."
"Those gestures of complacent subordination leave Spain looking very bad," Arreaza posted on his Twitter account in response to comments Dastis had made earlier in Brussels.
Arreaza then invited his Spanish counterpart "to recover his dignity and autonomy in the exercise of foreign policy, and to respect the sovereignty and independence of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela."
The visibly irked Arreaza went on to accuse Dastis of deliberately meddling in Venezuela’s affairs in order to solicit favourable trade terms from the United States government to help relieve Spain’s "battered economy."
The Venezuelan government’s ongoing dialogue with the opposition, which has been taking place in the Dominican Republic at the behest of President Nicolas Maduro, has been progressing: a development that "seems to be annoying in Madrid," Arreaza continued.
Announcing Saturday that the dialogue would resume December 15 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic President Danilo Madina said: "The government and the opposition declare that there has been significant progress in the search for an agreement that peacefully resolves the situation in Venezuela. It's better to go slowly so that things go well."
The government is asking the opposition to end its collaboration with foreign states imposing sanctions on the Venezuela, preventing the economy from being stabilized.
The opposition is seeking "humanitarian aid" from outside of the country, and demanding the release of hundreds of "political prisoners" they claim the government is holding.
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