Avellon Williams
VENEZUELA- In a statement on Monday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced that he was canceling his trip to Argentina for the Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), saying “the neo-fascist right” is planning to disrupt his visit.
Maduro explained his decision by saying he is being targeted by “extravagant plans” of right-wing extremists.
“In the last few hours, we have been informed, in an irrefutable manner, of a plan drawn up within the neo-fascist right wing, whose objective is to carry out a series of aggressions against our delegation,” the Venezuelan government said in a statement.
A bipartisan meeting between Maduro and Brazil’s new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was scheduled for Monday in Buenos Aires, according to reports an hour earlier. It was later announced by the Brazilian government that the meeting had been canceled by Caracas.
Upon his inauguration on Jan. 1, Lula restored diplomatic relations with Venezuela. As a result of mutual recriminations with Maduro, Brazil’s former far-right president Jair Bolsonarosevered relations between the countries in 2020.
In March 2020, the US offered $15 million for information leading to Maduro’s arrest for crimes such as drug trafficking and weapon possession. Maduro has avoided leaving his country since then.
“They intend to put on a deplorable show, in order to disrupt the positive effects of such an important regional event, and thus contribute to the discrediting campaign — already a failure — that has been launched against our country by the North American Empire,” the statement by the Venezuelan government said.
CELAC is an organization that promotes collaboration and development between Latin American and Caribbean countries. The meeting comes at a time when leftist leaders in the region, including those in Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Chile and Mexico, are focusing on regional integration.
Following Bolsonaro’s suspension of Brazil’s membership last year, the nation has re-joined the group.
