Venezuela's Maduro Slams Meeting Between Trump, Duque As 'Feast Of Hatred'

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro castigated the recent meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart Ivan Duque, during which the Venezuelan crisis was discussed.

MEXICO CITY (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th February, 2019) Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro castigated the recent meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart Ivan Duque, during which the Venezuelan crisis was discussed.

Trump and Duque conducted a bilateral meeting in the White House on Wednesday. After the meeting, the two presidents issued a joint statement, saying that Washington and Bogota were determined to work together to resolve the ongoing political crisis in Venezuela and provide humanitarian aid to the Latin American country.

"It was a feast of hatred toward Venezuela .... Today, the US president threatened to pursue a military invasion of Venezuela. I am asking peoples of the world to express their solidarity [with Caracas]," Maduro said in an address aired by his Periscope channel.

The Venezuelan president continued by noting that a signature collection campaign against the US military intervention in Venezuela would be continued.

The Venezuelan authorities have sought to collect 10 million signatures under a letter calling on Trump to abandon his intervention plans, which the US president said were "an option" to settle the existing tensions.

In his address on Wednesday, Maduro urged his compatriots to sign the letter.

"Trump is silent about cocaine. When the production of cocaine and drug trafficking from Colombia to the United States and Europe will stop, Ivan Duque? When? Instead of speaking about the increasing poverty, war in Colombia, politically-motivated murders and the failed state, they are talking about Venezuela," Maduro argued.

Maduro continued by noting that Venezuela had "moral rights and a constitution and will make everyone respect them."

Venezuela is facing escalating political tensions. In January, opposition leader Juan Guaido proclaimed himself the country's interim president and was immediately backed by both Washington and Bogota, as well as a number of other states. Maduro, in his turn, was supported by China and Russia, among other countries.