US defends seizure of Maduro’s plane, rejects arrest warrant for Edmundo Gonzalez

The United States Department of State on Tuesday condemned the arrest warrant issued in Venezuela against opposition leader Edmundo González for alleged incitement to violence, and defended the seizure of the plane President Nicolás Maduro after determining that its acquisition violated the sanctions imposed against the country.

“This arbitrary and politically motivated action demonstrates the lengths to which Nicolás Maduro is willing to go to try to hold on to power following his attempt to steal the July 28 presidential election,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at a news conference.

Miller insisted that the US “He is not the only one” who condemns this arrest warrant, citing Argentina, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay as other countries that have condemned the action.

Commenting on the seizure of the plane, which was flown to U.S. territory on Monday after determining that its acquisition violated export control and sanctions laws, Miller added: “The United States enforces its sanctions, and we will always enforce our sanctions.”

“(These are) the consequences that Maduro must continue to feel for his illegitimate and repressive anti-democratic actions… We have imposed sanctions on Maduro and his regime for their anti-democratic actions, which long predate his most recent anti-democratic action, and we will continue to enforce those sanctions,” he added.

The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry described the seizure as a “repeated criminal practice” and said that the US intimidates and pressures countries like the Dominican Republic to act as “accomplices in its criminal acts.”

The State Department insisted that it has “asked” Maduro “to stop repressing dissidents, to publish the real records, which he has not yet done, and to return Venezuela to its democratic path.” However, they said they have not seen any “will” from the ruling government to do so.

“That is why, in coordination with our partners, we are considering a range of options to demonstrate to Maduro and his representatives that their illegitimate and repressive actions in Venezuela have consequences,” Miller concluded.

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