Venezuela accuses US of ‘economic terrorism’ over assets freeze

Handout photo released by Miraflores presidential press office showing Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro (C) flanked by his wife Cilia Flores (L) and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino (R) during the 82nd anniversary ceremony of the Bolivarian National Guard at Military Academy, in Caracas on August 4, 2019. (Photo by HO / Venezuelan Presidency / AFP)

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (AFP) — Venezuela’s government on Tuesday accused the United States of trying to derail political crisis resolution talks with the opposition after President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on its US-based assets.

The regime of President Nicolas Maduro, in a foreign ministry statement, denounced the US move as “another serious aggression by the Trump administration through arbitrary economic terrorism against the Venezuelan people.”

Representatives of Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido are involved in “continuous” negotiations mediated by Norway.

The first round of talks were in Oslo in May and three further rounds have taken place in Barbados.

Caracas said these latest measures showed that Washington and its allies are “committed to the failure of the political dialogue” because “they fear the results and benefits.”

However, the government insisted that it “won’t allow this biased escalation of aggressions” to affect the talks.