South America

TEHRAN, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's deputy foreign minister said in Iran that the Venezuelans are determined to defend their country against any possible foreign attack, Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday.

"The government and its leadership are ready to defend the country if attacked. Venezuela's peaceful history shows that we will defend our country to our last man," Ruben Dario Molina told Tasnim in an interview.

Armed forces are also loyal to President Nicolas Maduro, Molina, who visited Iran recently, was quoted as saying.

UN, February 27. /TASS/. The Venezuelan government invites opposition leader Juan Guaido to sit at the negotiating table in order to forge a mutually acceptable solution to the ongoing political crisis, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.

"The coup has failed. It’s time to return to common sense. We expect [Juan] Guaido to sit at the negotiating table with the government in order to forge our own solution to the crisis, without anyone else’s interference from the outside," Arreaza said.

CARACAS, February 25. /TASS/. A meeting between Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and US President Donald Trump would help resolve the political crisis in Venezuela, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said in an interview with "Democracy Now!" broadcast.

A meeting between Maduro and Trump "would resolve everything, because Maduro is the head of state in Venezuela and Trump is the boss of the opposition in Venezuela," the minister said. "Why don’t they meet?" he wondered.

BOGOTA, February 25. /TASS/. The Lima Group countries do not support a military intervention in Venezuela, Brazilian Vice President Antonio Hamilton Mourao said on Monday.

"No one [in the Lima Group] supports a military solution to the situation [in Venezuela]," Mourao said.

The Brazilian vice president noted that "it is necessary to look for other ways to deliver humanitarian aid to Venezuela."

Brazil has no intention of allowing the United States to use its territory for a military operation against the Venezuelan government, Mourao stressed.

CARACAS, February 26. /TASS/. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has not ordered to open fire at civilians, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza told "Democracy Now!" news program broadcast on Monday.

MONTEVIDEO, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Any humanitarian aid for Venezuela should be delivered under the oversight of the United Nations (UN), Uruguay's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Ariel Bergamino said on Monday.

"We believe the humanitarian aid should be delivered in keeping with the UN protocols, in order not to politicize it or create situations like Saturday's," Bergamino told state-run radio network RNU.

CARACAS, Venezuela, Feb 24 (NNN-TELESUR) – People around the world have expressed solidarity with Venezuela and have rejected the United States government’s interventionism and the attempted coup in Venezuela.

Demonstrations in support ofthe Venezuelan government on social media are mainly under the hashtags #TrumpHandsOffVenezuela and #VenezuelaEnDefensaDeLaPaz (Venezuela In Defense Of Peace). The Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Ministry has shared several posts to show the support received by the Bolivarian government in different countries and cities around the world.

BOGOTA, February 24. /TASS/. Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo said on Saturday that President Ivan Duque ordered the trucks with humanitarian assistance for Venezuela to return back from the border with Venezuela.

"Measures were taken upon direct instructions by President Duque. Protecting people in the border zone remains the Colombian government’s priority, therefore, the trucks are returning," the minister told reporters in the city of Cucuta on the Colombian-Venezuelan border.

CARACAS, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets of the capital Caracas on Saturday in defense of peace and Bolivarian revolution.

Supporters of the ruling party gathered to hear President Nicolas Maduro rail against attempted U.S. military intervention under the guise of humanitarian concern.

"Thirty days later, the coup has failed," Maduro said, referring to Jan. 23 when right-wing opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president and launched a push to unseat the president.

CARACAS, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced on Saturday severance of diplomatic and political relations with neighboring Colombia, following the latter one's support for Venezuela's right-wing opposition and military defectors.

"I have decided to break off all types of political and diplomatic ties with the fascist government of Colombia," Maduro told a pro-government rally in Caracas.

Colombia's embassy staff must "leave within 24 hours," he added.