Venezuela Will Address UN Security Council over US Blockade Threat: Maduro
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Caracas wants to address the UN Security Council to draw their attention to US threats to impose a blockade on Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday.
"All of Venezuela, in a civic-military union, repudiates and rejects the statements of (US President) Donald Trump about a supposed quarantine, a supposed blockade," Maduro said, adding that Venezuelan seas would remain "free and independent."
The Venezuelan president said he had asked the country's ambassador to the United Nations Samuel Moncada to denounce the US threats to the UN Security Council, Tass reported.
Venezuela faces an economic crisis which is further exacerbated by US sanctions. In a letter to UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, Maduro said that the United States stripped Venezuela of its oil assets worth $30 bln.
Moreover, over $7 bln in banks meant for purchasing food and medicines, were frozen or seized, Maduro added. The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry described the US sanctions as "economic terrorism" that "deprives Venezuelan people of their right to have access to food.".