Ricardo Patiño: «Si existe una amenaza en América Latina es EE.UU».

El canciller ecuatoriano, Ricardo Patiño, declaró este viernes en una entrevista en el programa Democracy Now de Pacifica Radio conducido por Amy Goodman y Juan González que es un sinsentido afirmar que “Venezuela constituye una amenaza» para la seguridad nacional de EE.UU., ya que no posee la posibilidad material ni los deseos de amenazar a nadie. Sin embargo, aseguró que EE.UU. sí ha invadido permanentemente a países de la región latinoamericana, donde ha participado en golpes de Estado y ha apoyado a diferentes dictaduras.

El gobierno de Obama enfrenta críticas en casi toda América Latina por imponer a Venezuela nuevas sanciones y declarar a dicho país como “una amenaza extraordinaria e inusual a la seguridad nacional”. Cancilleres de los doce países de América del Sur han pedido el levantamiento de las sanciones emitiendo una declaración en la que afirman que esta actitud “constituye una amenaza intervencionista contra la soberanía y el principio de la no interferencia en los asuntos internos de otros países”.

Fragmento de la transcripción en ingles de la entrevista disponible en el portal del programa Democracy Now:

AMY GOODMAN: Joining us here in New York is Ecuador’s foreign minister, Ricardo Patiño, who took part in the Organization of American States meeting yesterday. Ecuador has offered to mediate between the United States and Venezuela.
Ricardo Patiño, welcome to Democracy Now! It’s great to have you with us. Can you respond to the U.S. calling Venezuela an extraordinary national security threat?
FOREIGN MINISTER RICARDO PATIÑO: [translated] It doesn’t make any sense. It makes no sense whatsoever to think that Venezuela constitutes a threat to the United States. If there is a country that is a threat in the Americas, it’s the United States, because it has permanently invaded countries, societies in Latin America. It has created coups d’état. It has invaded countries, such as Grenada, the Dominican Republican, Panama. And it promoted dictatorships. Venezuela doesn’t have the minimal material possibility to constitute a threat to the United States, nor does it wish to be in that position. We have no desire or possibility to be a threat to the United States. What we want is to live in peace and to ask the government of the United States to let Latin America live in peace and democracy, as is happening at this time.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And can you tell us a little more about the offer of your government to mediate between the United States and Venezuela?
FOREIGN MINISTER RICARDO PATIÑO: [translated] It’s really a request that the government of Venezuela has made that Ecuador, insofar as it is now president pro tem of CELAC, which is the Community of Latin American States, to coordinate with other forums in Latin America to give impetus to a dialogue with the United States. In a decision adopted by the Union of South American Nations last Saturday, which was a hard-hitting decision or clear decision by the 12 South African countries, we rejected the executive order by the U.S. government, and we asked that it be lifted. But we also called for a dialogue, because we see that the solution is not violence, the solution is to be found in dialogue. And we want to make it perfectly clear that Venezuela is not alone, and that as it is not a threat to the United States, Ecuador is not a threat, either, nor is Brazil a threat. And we ask the United States to respect the self-determination and sovereignty of the South American and Latin American people.

Video de la entrevista con el canciller Ricardo Patiño:

Reflexión Entre Noticias:

«El poder no es un medio, sino un fin en sí mismo».

(George Orwell)