MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th January, 2019) Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called on Saturday appointment of Elliot Abrams as new US Special Envoy to Venezuela an attempt to impose a direct rule over the Latin American country.
On Friday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced appointment of Abrams, who served in the administrations of presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, as the special envoy to Venezuela. Abrams was criticized for supporting Contras in Nicaragua and the El Salvador military as both were accused of major human rights abuses during military conflicts. Former US presidential candidate from the Green Party Jill Stein has accused Abrams of leading the 2002 failed coup in Venezuela.
"That is Washington's attempt to impose a direct rule over the political situation in Venezuela, which is viewed by the US establishment as its future regional vassal. [The United States] has 'restored' democracy in Iraq and Libya, while in Syria it was not allowed to do that. Now Venezuela," Zakharova wrote on her Facebook page.
On Tuesday, the situation in Venezuela escalated when the opposition-controlled National Assembly declared that President Nicolas Maduro had usurped power. National Assembly Speaker Juan Guaido proclaimed himself interim president on the following day.
The United States along with some other states recognized Guaido, after which Maduro called the opposition leader a US puppet and accused the United States of organizing a coup in Venezuela. The Venezuelan president also decided to cut off diplomatic relations with the United States and asked US diplomats to leave the country within 72 hours. However, the United States has refused to withdraw its diplomats.
