US ‘very concerned’ by meeting between Honduran authorities and Venezuelan defence minister
The United States ambassador in Tegucigalpa, Laura Dogu, expressed this Wednesday the concern of her country about the meeting of the defense authorities of Honduras with the Minister of Defense of Venezuela, Vladimir Padrino López, in the framework of a military sporting event.
“We are very concerned about what has happened in Venezuela. It was quite surprising for me to see the Minister of Defense (of Honduras, José Manuel Zelaya) and the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (of the Armed Forces, General Roosevelt Hernández) sitting next to a drug trafficker in Venezuela,” Dogu told reporters, noting that the minister is under US sanctions.
Zelaya, who is the nephew of former Honduran President José Manuel Zelaya, who was overthrown in 2009, and Hernández met in recent days with Padrino López, within the framework of the fourth edition of the World Cadet Games of the International Council of Military Sports (CISM) that were held in Venezuela, according to images released by the local press.
The US diplomat said she was surprised by the meeting between Honduran authorities and the Venezuelan Minister of Defense, when the United States is “working” with Honduran President Xiomara Castro in the fight against “the narco-dictatorship.”
He also said that it was “surprising and a little disappointing to see (Honduran) government officials sitting with members of a cartel based in Venezuela,” when the Honduran president “is in a constant fight against drug traffickers.”
In September 2018, the US Treasury Department announced new economic sanctions against “the inner circle” of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, including his wife, Cilia Flores, and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López.
As a result of these measures, any assets these individuals may have under US jurisdiction are frozen and financial transactions with US entities or persons are prohibited.
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