Versión Español
EspañolUS Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) asked the US Department of State to revoke the visa of a Washington-based Venezuelan diplomat on Thursday, after he made controversial remarks to a Venezuelan TV show on Monday evening.
Ambassador Roy Chaderton, Venezuela’s representative at the Organization of American States (OAS), told VTV that “A bullet passes through the skull of an escuálido quickly, and it sounds hollow,” using a derogatory term for opposition supporters.
#Venezuela Amb 2 #OAS’s vile remarks abt bullets in head of #Maduro’s opposition show regime's disdain 4 #HumanRights http://t.co/SrR8Mh3J6P
— Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (@RosLehtinen) March 11, 2015
Chaderton made the remarks while discussing the prospect of a US invasion of Venezuela. He claimed that US soldiers would be able to distinguish between the head of a Chavista (government supporter) and a dissident because the latter is “empty of content.”
“Chaderton’s statement is a microcosm of the true nature of the Venezuelan regime, epitomizes the disdain it has for human rights, freedom and democracy, and will only serve to incite more violence against those who oppose Maduro,” Ros-Lehtinen said in a press release on March 12.
“There is simply no place at all for a representative of any nation to make such inflammatory and odious statements, and I urge the OAS and all responsible nations to speak out against Chaderton’s remarks and stand in support of the people of Venezuela who continue to seek democracy and human dignity,” she added.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has included Ros-Lehtinen among the US officials banned from entering the country, in retaliation to US sanctions on the South American country decreed by US President Barack Obama on Monday.
Venezuelan opposition Congressman Julio Montoya also said he will file a complaint against the diplomat for inciting hatred.
During 2014’s anti-government protests in Venezuela, which left 43 dead, at least 10 were killed with shots to the head.
On February 24 of this year, 16-year-old Venezuelan student Kluiverth Roa was shot in the head and killed, allegedly by a police officer. Six other students were found dead in the same way in the preceding week, all after being detained by police at demonstrations.
Source: El Universal.
