Caracas - The Venezuelan Government released an official communication yesterday denouncing accusations made against Venezuela by Israeli Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon as “slanderous” and “abusive”.

Yaalon accused Venezuela of working with Iran to create a “terrorist infrastructure” in Latin America that could “attack the interests of the United States or in the United States,” during his visit to Uruguay this week.

The Venezuelan Government published the below statement regarding the comments.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez further explained yesterday that “all of that forms part of the attempt to place Venezuela on the list of countries called “rogues” by them [the US and its allies], in order to later justify any aggression against us, that’s what it’s about”.

Statement:

Venezuela Rejects Statements by Israel’s Vice Prime Minister

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela rejects the statements issued by Israeli Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon in an interview during his visit to the sister Oriental Republic of Uruguay, in which he openly accused Venezuela of participating in plots to commit terrorist attacks.

Such abusive and tendentious statements, which come from the representative of a government that itself participates in terrorist attacks against the Arab peoples, are part of a continuous campaign of aggression against our people aimed at spreading these slanderous rumors in international media outlets, mainly in the U.S.

Additionally, these rumors are against a people, the Venezuelan people, who are playing a leading role in a peaceful, democratic and humanist revolution, and who have never used weapons to attack any people, neither create death and destruction.

On the contrary, the Bolivarian Government of President Hugo Chávez maintains and fosters deep relations of cooperation, solidarity and fraternity with all the peoples of the continent and the world, which is widely recognized by Latin America and the international community, as was demonstrated once again during the historic foundational Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

As a consequence, Venezuela denounces and rejects these plans of manipulation that serve dark interests through lies and calumnies, and ratifies that its relations with the generous government and people of Iran are based on the pursuit of peace and development.