RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – (EFE) The Honduran Foreign Minister, Lisando Rosales, accused Venezuela this Friday of wanting to impose its agenda on the democracies of Latin America, encouraging the protests that have recently taken place in countries such as Chile, Ecuador and, at this moment, Colombia.
Rosales participated today together with Carlos Madero, Coordinating Minister of the Honduran Government in the Tribune organized by EFE and Casa de América, which was moderated by the International Director of the Spanish news agency, Rosario Gasca.
“Honduras has been one of the countries that have given a clear example that democracy works, we have gone to ten electoral processes, we have elected presidents in free, observed elections, which with their imperfections have given a new government and understanding among the political class has always prevailed,” said Rosales.
However, “unfortunately”, he said, “in recent years, and I am speaking in the case of Honduras, the influence of drug trafficking, which causes crime, or countries, such as Venezuela specifically, which are involved in institutionalized drug trafficking activities, force us to have these difficulties that often occur in democracy”.
The Chancellor cited a meeting in New York where the Venezuelan issue was addressed, and in which the representatives of Colombia, Chile and Ecuador spoke, and “15 days later we had protests in Chile, which burned several buildings; in Colombia, which continue at this moment, and in Ecuador, where they burned the Superior Court of Auditors and the Prosecutor’s Office”.
“That did not happen alone. We shared information with some US offices, and people who participated in Honduras in the post-election protests in 2017 were two years later in front of the White House protesting, the same people wearing Hugo Chavez shirts,” Rosales said.
“The political influence and with the amount of money the regime has both legally and illegally in Venezuela they want to impose their agenda and meddle in countries that have maintained a democracy,” said Honduran Foreign Minister Lisando Rosales.
The Chancellor reiterated that there have already been ten democratic processes in Honduras, “and we are going to an eleventh with a new electoral law that has allowed the political class to reach an understanding of dialogue, with a new consensual law, accepted by the responsible political parties”.
“You are always going to find a person who may not agree, but perhaps they are those who have never had a party in their hands and have been able to achieve those processes of institutionalization that are required in democracies,” he added.