The first vice-president of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and the right-hand man of Nicolás Maduro’s regime, Diosdado Cabello, has made a statement on Monday (19). He expressed that the United Nations (UN) should prioritize their concerns towards the “genocide of the Palestinian people” rather than focusing on the matters arising from Venezuela, the South American country. PSUV is the ruling party in Venezuela, under the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro.
In the previous week, there was a significant development from the Venezuelan dictatorship. The regime had commanded a halt to the operations of a local technical advisory office. This office was under the jurisdiction of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Moreover, the dictatorship instructed the employees of this office to leave the country immediately.
The regime led by Nicolás Maduro justifies these actions by stating that the UN office had been intruding into domestic affairs. This came after the office raised questions about the sudden disappearance and subsequent arrest of Rocío San Miguel, a lawyer and activist. San Miguel was presented in court without being given the privilege of private legal representation.
In a press conference held at the PSUV headquarters on Monday, Cabello went on to state, “The UN should be concerned with more serious issues and raise its flags to reject the genocide against the Palestinian people. They do nothing about it but show concern about what’s happening in Venezuela.” These statements were reported by the Efecto Cocuyo website. He continued by expressing his discontent with the UN, stating, “These gentlemen thought we were a colony.”
Cabello, being the second-in-command of the Chavismo regime, showed nonchalance towards the possibility of any retaliation that could arise due to the closure of the UN office. It is noteworthy that since 2019, this office had been actively investigating human rights violations in Venezuela.
In his concluding comments, Cabello shared his viewpoint on the UN by stating, “We don’t know what retaliation could be taken (…), but well, the UN is controlled by the United States and we can expect any madness.”
