Havana Dismisses US Claims About Cuba's Alleged Support For Venezuelan Secret Police

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez dismissed the claims by US Vice President Mike Pence that Cuban military allegedly trained and supported Venezuelan secret police in a bid to silence the country's opposition, calling these allegations "gross lies" and a propaganda campaign

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd March, 2019) Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez dismissed the claims by US Vice President Mike Pence that Cuban military allegedly trained and supported Venezuelan secret police in a bid to silence the country's opposition, calling these allegations "gross lies" and a propaganda campaign.

Pence made his claims in an opinion piece for the Miami Herald newspaper.

"I strongly reject repeated and false accusations by vice president Pence and other #US officials of Cuban military 'training,' 'controlling' or 'intimidating' in #Venezuela. These are gross lies, part of the vicious McCarthyist propaganda campaign launched by #US," Rodriguez wrote on Twitter on Friday.

The foreign minister added that Havana and Caracas enjoyed relations based on mutual respect and solidarity without interfering in each others' internal affairs.

Rodriguez also expressed his support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Venezuela is currently in political turmoil.

In January, opposition leader Juan Guaido, backed by the United States, declared himself the interim president of Venezuela after disputing Maduro's re-election last May. Washington immediately endorsed Guaido, called on Maduro to step down and seized billions of Dollars' worth of Venezuela's oil assets.

Maduro has accused the United States of trying to orchestrate a coup in order to install Guaido as a puppet leader beholden to Washington. Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia, Turkey and a number of other countries have voiced their support for Maduro as the only legitimate president of Venezuela.