Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza reads a statement in Caracas, Venezuela, on Aug. 12, 2017. Venezuela's Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza on Saturday slammed the "warmongering" declarations of U.S. President Donald Trump as "threats to peace." In a statement, Arreaza said that Trump's statement about not to "rule out" a military option in Venezuela was a "violation" of UN and international laws. (Xinhua/Str)
CARACAS, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza on Saturday slammed the "warmongering" declarations of U.S. President Donald Trump as "threats to peace."
In a statement, Arreaza said that Trump's statement about not to "rule out" a military option in Venezuela was a "violation" of UN and international laws.
"Venezuela categorically rejects the unfriendly and warmongering declarations of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, who has threatened us with a military intervention, in violation of United Nations principles and international law," said the foreign minister.
Bolivian President Evo Morales also condemned on Saturday the "armed interventionist eagerness by the U.S. against Venezuela," slamming the international community for keeping silent.
Writing on Twitter, Morales stated that "we condemn the armed interventionist eagerness by the U.S. against Venezuela, a country which seeks peace in dialogue."
Venezuela's government has been severely criticized by the international community for creating a National Constituent Assembly (ANC), which will rewrite the Constitution. This has been widely derided as a power-grab by Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro.
Several Venezuelans interviewed by Xinhua also dismissed Trump's words as "imperial interference."
"It is an act of arrogance. It is not the first time that Trump has acted like this towards Venezuela, which has been besieged for a long time," said Cristobal Alva, a Venezuelan poet from Guatire in the northern state of Miranda.
Rosalia Pulgar, a pensioner from Caracas, said that "we are prepared to resolve our own problems."
She highlighted the "moral and military...preparation" of the Venezuelan people and added that "diplomacy" was the right way to resolve conflicts.
For economist Gerardo Zambrano, Trump's words are a "brutal and cynical" threat against Venezuela, which menaces to plunge Latin America into "a regional conflict."
"We have a nationalist and anti-imperialist army, differing from previous decades. This is why I believe the United States, with its imperial attitude, does not want direct confrontation, but will use neighboring countries or even mercenaries," said Zambrano.
Also on Saturday, South American trade bloc Mercosur rejected the use of force in Venezuela, according to a statement by Argentina's foreign ministry.
