The U.S. ruled out military action against Venezuela on Monday, whilst Cuban Vice President Ramon Machado Ventura reiterated his country’s continued solidarity with the Venezuelan government.
Virginia Staab, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman, told AFP, “As we stated in the past, the United States has no intention of engaging in military action against Venezuela.”
“The United States has long enjoyed a mutually beneficial energy relationship with Venezuela, and we wish to see that relationship continue,” she said.
Meanwhile the Cuban Vice President Ramon Machado Ventura said his country would continue to support Venezuela.
Speaking in Santa Clara’s Plaza de Ernesto Che Guevara in central Cuba, at the National Rebellion Day celebrations, the vice president spoke of Cuba’s “unshakable solidarity with Venezuela and the condemnation of the deployment of U.S. [military] bases in Colombia.”
Machado said that, “Faced with threats and provocations, Venezuela has a right to defend itself and it can always count on the support of the Cuban people.”
According to Venezuelan television network Telesur, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who was supposed to be the keynote speaker at the Cuban commemorations, said on Sunday that he would suspend his visit to Cuba because of the “possibility of armed aggression from Colombia.”
Referring to the possibilty of Colombia attacking Venezuela with U.S. support, Chavez warned, “we would suspend oil deliveries to the United States, even if everybody over here has to eat stones.”
Virginia Staab said the U.S. sought a peaceful resolution, saying “We encourage Colombia and Venezuela to work through dialogue and diplomacy to ensure their shared border is secure and peaceful.”
However, she also reiterated the U.S.’s support for Colombia with concern to the Andean nation’s allegations that leftist guerrillas are hiding out in Venezuela, “The information presented by Colombia concerning a continuing presence by illegal armed groups in Venezuela merits a thorough investigation by competent international entities.”
