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US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has warned that Venezuela is “collapsing”, suggesting the US may take additional steps to restore democracy.
Trump told Latin American allies gathered on the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly that President Nicolas Maduro ”defied his own people” and was guilty of “disastrous rule” that may necessitate further punitive measures.
“The Venezuelan people are starving. Their country is collapsing,” he said.
“It was one of the wealthiest countries in the world for a long period of time and now the people are starving and the country is collapsing, who would think that was possible?”
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/909995135009804288
Washington has already slapped sanctions on the crisis-stricken country and Trump warned on 11 August that the US was mulling a range of options against Venezuela, “including a possible military option if necessary”.
Trump did not repeat that warning but said the US was prepared to take further action, without offering details.
“Their democratic institutions are being destroyed,” he said.
The situation is completely unacceptable. As responsible neighbours and friends of the Venezuelan people, our goal must be to help them and restore their democracy.
The meeting was attended by Colombia’s Juan Manuel Santos, Brazil’s Michel Temer, Panama’s Juan Carlos Varela and Argentina’s vice president Gabriela Michetti.
“The socialist dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro has inflicted terrible misery and suffering on the good people of that country,” Trump told the room.
https://twitter.com/GhostAnons/status/909936755230507008
“His corrupt regime destroyed a thriving nation by imposing a failed ideology that has produced poverty and despair everywhere it has been tried,” he said.
“I ask every country represented here to do more to address this unbelievably serious crisis. We call for the full restoration of democracy and political freedoms in Venezuela and we want it to happen very, very soon.”
Anxious world leaders
Meanwhile, world leaders open their annual debate at the UN today, and many are eager to hear Trump deliver his maiden address amid global anxiety over North Korea and Iran.
Trump will take to the podium at the General Assembly just after Brazil’s Michel Temer.
The US leader will outline his foreign policy priorities, from confronting North Korea over its nuclear and missile tests to decide the fate of the Iran nuclear deal.
A top White House aide said Trump will take aim at “rogue regimes that threaten world stability and peace”, singling out Pyongyang and Tehran during his 30-minute remarks and urging responsible nations to step in to curb their behaviour.
Trump will argue nation states should be free to pursue their interests unfettered – a contentious message for delegates to the world’s foremost multilateral forum.
UN reform
Along with his Venezuelan speech yesterday, Trump vowed to push for reform at a UN level.
He called on the UN Secretary General to “use his authority to cut through the bureaucracy, reform outdated systems and make firm decisions to advance the UN’s core mission”.
Further, we encourage all member states to look at ways to take bold stands at the United Nations with an eye toward changing business as usual and not being beholden to ways of the past which were not working.
With reporting by AFP.
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I wonder if someone did take him out 30 years ago, would Zimbabwe be the basket case he turned it into, or would some other “leader”, equally malingnant have just taken his place.
It’s tempting to write Africa off, but these things are not inevitable. The neighbours in Botswana were a landlocked, diamond rich former colony. Not an obvious candidate for success. And yet they were, partly because of Seretse Khama’s leadership, but also because people kept voting for him.
Unfortunately, for every relative success story there are 50 failed states. Nation building is hard and requires guts, enterprise, selflessness and vision. Mugabe wasn’t even asked to nation build. He was handed a fully functioning, very rich and successful country and managed to level it in less than a generation. That takes mean spiritness, stupidity, and the most crass selfishness and myopic vision, which, unfortunately, seems to be the calibre of most African leaders. Take and destroy is what they do and in the meantime, the west continues to do what the west does best. Assuage our feelings of western guilt by feeding, clothing and vaccinating the Africans left behind by their very own “leaders”.
We can write much of Africa off if the Chinese economy falters, And also, we can take Australia with it.
Problem with africa is its full of africans
“Unfortunate event”
In who’s eyes ????
Funny that at Mandela’s memorial when the camera would go to different world leaders the crowd would cheer or boo depending on who it was on. Mugabe got a massive cheer and Bush Jnr got a massive boo. Ya no your screwed when Mugabe gets a bigger cheer than ya!
It was an ANC crowd at the funeral & Mugabe was a big supporter if the ANC during apartheid times so I’d be sure that’s why he was cheered rather than for his recent policies.
That says a lot more about the crowd than it does about Bush Jr.
Whatever you can accuse Bush Jr. of, laying waste to his country, starving his people, killing the productive farmers and having an ugly greedy, mean wife isnt among them. An ANC crowd can turn into a vicious mob at the turn of a hair. Being rational abd discerning is not their thing.
Hurricane Katrina anyone? ;)
Sadly, probably the latter.
Problem with Africa is the tribal government system, and the mentality of it’s people.
@coom
Same could be said for a lot of countries..including ours!
Christina who wrote that paper? Dept of the Taoiseach?
While it is true that Robert Mugabe has a few character flaws, it cannot be denied that he is an active leader who stands up for his people. Much better than the shower we have running this country, he is. You can bet Robert Mugabe would have burned the bondholders and sent the IMF home with a flea in their ear.
Pity he didn’t have a fatal “accident” here.
Proably after totruring them first…Thing is we can elect another incompetant shower to govern us.Mugabe is there forever like a big black blood sucking tick on Zimbabwae.But then thats what happens if you let Marxist gun waving loons loose on a perfectly functioning and producing ,albeit not without is fault state.Turn it into a dictatorship that makes the previous oppression by whomever look like paradise.
have your say