Washington : US President Barack Obama said neither the US nor any other member of the Inter-American community “should remain silent” about the situation in Venezuela, though he stressed that Washington “remains open to direct dialogue” with Caracas.
“We do not believe that Venezuela poses a threat to the United States, nor does the United States threaten the Venezuelan government,” Obama told Spanish news agency Efe in an exclusive interview ahead of this week’s VII Summit of the Americas in Panama.
“But we do remain very troubled by the Venezuelan government’s efforts to escalate intimidation of its political opponents, including the arrest and prosecution of elected officials on political charges, and the continued erosion of human rights,” he said.
Obama said the sanctions he imposed last month against particular Venezuelan officials “were focused on discouraging human rights violations and corruption”.
The punitive measures, he said “are focused specifically on individuals responsible for the persecution of political opponents, curtailment of press freedoms, use of violence and arbitrary arrest and detention”.
“These sanctions are not intended to undermine the Venezuelan government or to promote instability in Venezuela,” Obama emphasised.
Obama’s executive order imposing sanctions on members of President Nicolas Maduro’s government and declaring the situation in Venezuela a “threat” to US national security aggravated already tense bilateral relations.
The two governments took a step to ease tensions ahead of the Summit with a meeting on Wednesday in Caracas between State Department senior advisor Thomas Shannon and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez.
Venezuela’s foreign ministry said afterwards that Rodriguez used the highest-level bilateral discussion in several years to reiterate the Maduro government’s demand that Obama’s executive order be rescinded.
“I want to be clear,” Obama said in the interview. “Our deep and abiding interest is in a Venezuela that is prosperous, stable, democratic, and secure. We want the Venezuelan people to succeed and to thrive.”
Obama pointed out that the US was Venezuela’s largest trading partner, with annual bilateral trade of more than $40 billion, while also citing “deep and long-standing connections between families and our citizens”.
“I am a firm believer in diplomatic engagement, and the United States remains open to direct dialogue with the Venezuelan government to discuss any matter of mutual concern,” he said.
Obama called for Venezuela to embark on an “internal dialogue” to find “a political solution to the divisions tearing at Venezuelan society”.
“We have consistently supported that kind of dialogue, and we continue to see it as the best way for Venezuela to move forward,” he said.
“We’ll continue to work closely with others in the region to encourage the Venezuelan government to live up to its commitment to promote and defend democratic governance,” he said.
The Panama summit “is an important moment” for leaders across the region to reaffirm their commitment to the “principles and values” in the Inter-American Democratic Charter, Obama said.