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Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Jorge Arreaza, met with Cuban President Raul Castro to discuss “constant solidarity” between the two nations and the further strengthening of ties in the face of threats and sanctions from the United States. His trip to Cuba is part of a broader Latin American tour that coincides with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's sojourn to the region.
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“I felt very proud” when U.S. President Donald Trump cited "Cuba and Venezuela as its adversaries,” Arreaza said. It means “we're on the right path. If Trump had applauded us, we would be on the road to damnation.”
Arreaza also weighed in on recent events in Peru, calling president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski corrupt. He said "The Summit of the Americas is fast approaching in Lima. A summit that covers corruption and governance and it will be held in Lima, where the president was on the verge of being removed for corruption. A deal saved him. An act of corruption he did in Congress at the last minute, buying votes and giving an immoral pardon. To an even more corrupt leader to save himself."
Kuczynski avoided impeachment by granting a pardon to former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, who, in 2009, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for massacres in Barrio Altos and La Cantuta.
Arreaza stated that irony prevails in the fact that the VIII Summit of the Americas will be held in Lima in July, with the theme "Democratic Governance Against Corruption."
His official meeting in Cuba was also attended by Caribbean island's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodriguez, students, professors and others, according to Reuters.
Arreaza's arrival in Cuba marks the beginning of a tour to Latin America and the Caribbean with the aim of strengthening regional integration.
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