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UNITED NATIONS – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro visited the United States General Assembly Wednesday to "defend his country" when six countries accused him of crimes against him. humanity and that President Donald Trump has shown firmness.
The surprise visit came after Maduro had already threatened to skip the global rally, citing fears for his personal safety as his once-rich OPEC country sinks into a brutal crisis and international pressure to the socialist leader retires.
Maduro confirmed in a video broadcast on Venezuelan public television that he was defending Venezuela, giving his country the floor on the world stage.
"Today, we are stronger than ever," said Maduro during a flight from Caracas. "I am filled with emotion, passion."
It is unlikely, however, that Maduro will meet Trump, despite the US President's comments earlier in the day, that he would be willing to meet with his Venezuelan counterpart if it could help ease the suffering of the South American nation.
"I'm willing to meet anybody when I can (save) lives, help people," Trump said as he was struck by journalists' questions about whether the United States intervene one day to withdraw Maduro.
On Wednesday, the presidents of five Conservative governments in Latin America and the Prime Minister of Canada met in New York and signed a complaint to the International Criminal Court asking him to investigate Maduro for crimes against humanity .
This is the first time that member countries have sent another country to the US court based in the Netherlands. They cite a report on human rights accusing Venezuelan security forces of arbitrary arrests, killings, extrajudicial executions, torture, sexual abuse and rape on the orders of the Maduro government.
"Remaining indifferent or speculative about this reality could be seen as complicit with the regime," said Paraguayan Foreign Minister Andres Rodriguez Pedotti. "We will not be accomplices."
Venezuela's chief prosecutor, Luisa Ortega, has called on the United States to take advantage of Maduro's visit to arrest him on charges of organized crime, corruption and genocide.
Maduro's trip came a day after the Trump administration imposed financial sanctions on four members of his entourage, including his wife and the Venezuelan vice president, for allegations of corruption. Trump also suggested that Maduro could easily be overthrown by a military coup, echoing comments last year that some kind of "military solution" might be needed to restore democracy in Venezuela.
The newly sanctioned first lady, Cilia Flores, accompanied Maduro to New York.
Maduro has been seeking to meet Trump for nearly two years and has watched in frustration as the US leader argues with US opponents such as North Korea's Kim Jong Un and Russia's Vladimir Putin as he avoids Venezuela's pleas.
Citgo, a subsidiary of the Venezuelan state oil company, was a major corporate donor to Trump's inaugural committee. Maduro also released this year a former Utah missionary jailed for over two years for weapons-related charges in order to improve his relations with the White House.
His desire for reconciliation with the US has increased as international pressure builds on his socialist government in a time of hyperinflation and widespread shortages of food and medicine.
An estimated 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled to neighboring countries in the last four years, threatening to disrupt regional stability.
Maduro has not attended the US General Assembly since 2015 and said last week that he may have to suspend his participation this year for fear his opponents will try to kill him if he traveled abroad.
Trump said Wednesday that all American options were on the table to help end the political, economic and humanitarian chaos in Venezuela – even the most "strong".
"I just want to see Venezuela recover. I want people to be safe. We will take care of Venezuela, "he said, calling Venezuela's situation shameful.
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Associated Press reporter Jonathan Lemire reported the story to the United Nations and author of the AP, Scott Smith, reported in Caracas, Venezuela. PA author Joshua Goodman in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
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