The Venezuelan government announced on the 16th that it would suspend the dialogue with the opposition in Mexico, which was originally scheduled to be held on the 17th, in order to demonstrate its protest against the “crude violation” of a Venezuelan representative by the United States.
A few hours before the Venezuelan government announced the above decision, its appointed representative, Alex Sabo, was sent on a plane sent by the U.S. Department of Justice in the African country of Cape Verde and extradited to the U.S. for trial.
With the mediation of the Norwegian government, the Venezuelan government and the opposition began a dialogue in Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, in August this year, with a view to resolving the domestic political and economic crisis. The dialogue lasted for several rounds and was originally scheduled to continue on the 17th.
Jorge Rodríguez, head of the Venezuelan government delegation and chairman of the parliament, held a press conference on the 16th in front of a background board with the words “release Alex Sabo”, announcing the decision to suspend the dialogue and expressing this. One decision was to express “the deepest protest” over the “crude violation” of Saab by the United States.
According to Agence France-Presse, Saab has dual citizenship of Colombia and Venezuela. He was sanctioned by the administration of former US President Donald Trump. In July 2019, he was charged with money laundering charges by the US Department of Justice. In June 2020, he stopped at Buddha on his way to Iran. Arrested when he got a horn.
The Venezuelan government claimed that Saab was entrusted by the Venezuelan government to travel to Iran as a diplomat to perform humanitarian missions. The Venezuelan government strongly opposes the US prosecution of Saab, denounced it as a conspiracy intended to promote regime change in Venezuela.
Saab’s team of lawyers tried to block his extradition to the United States on the basis of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, but the Cape Verdean court rejected the appeal in September this year and approved the extradition.
According to the Associated Press, the United States has been eyeing Saab for many years, believing that he has “a lot of secrets” related to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The Trump administration regarded the extradition of Saab as a “priority” and once sent US naval vessels to Cape Verde to “hold the battle.”
Saab’s lawyer, Manuel Pinto Monteiro, said on the 16th that the legal process of the Saab case in Cape Verde has not been completed and that the act of initiating extradition at this time is “illegal”.
The Venezuelan government issued a statement on the same day that the extradition of Saab was a “kidnapping” collusion between the U.S. government and relevant Cape Verde authorities and “seriously violated the human rights of a Venezuelan citizen, diplomat, and our country’s representative in the world.”
Maduro won re-election in the presidential election held in May 2018. The United States does not recognize the results of this election and supports Juan Guaido, the chairman of the parliament who has proclaimed himself “interim president.” Guaido continued to move with the support of the United States, but all attempts to seize power were unsuccessful.
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on pro-Maduro individuals and businesses. The current US President Joseph Biden did not lift the sanctions after he took office and continued to support Venezuelan opposition leader Guaido. The Venezuelan government has repeatedly condemned the US sanctions for severely harming Venezuelan domestic economy. (Gao Jie) (Xinhua News Agency Special Feature)
(Original title: Protest against U.S. encroachment on Venezuelan government’s suspension of dialogue with the opposition)Return to Sohu to see more
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