The US Uses Sanctions to Blackmail Venezuela: VP Rodriguez

On Tuesday, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez asserted that the unilateral coercive measures imposed by the United States seek to "blackmail" Venezuela into changing its course of independence and self-determination.

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"Over 1,000 unilateral coercive measures, wrongly called 'sanctions', have been used to blackmail us and force us to change our course of independence and self-determination," she pointed out.

Her statements were made during the Regional Caribbean Seminar of the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization, which is taking place in Caracas.

"We have been punished for our defense of self-determination. This sanctions system is a new form of colonialism that seeks to seize our resources," Rodriguez said.

"The unilateral coercive measures seek to obstruct the advancement of new models of development and happiness proposed by peoples who refuse to bow to the hegemonic system," she added.

The Venezuelan vice president emphasized that U.S. foreign policy is based on wars to maintain hegemony and arbitrary sanctions.

"Currently, 28 percent of the world's population lives in 30 countries sanctioned by the United States. Its sanctions cover 72 percent of the planet's territory," Rodriguez recalled.

The Bolivarian official highlighted that the United States and its allies seek to appropriate the natural resources of developing countries, without respecting cooperation relationships.

"It is necessary to guarantee the self-determination of peoples," Rodriguez emphasized, calling for an end to colonialism in Puerto Rico and the Malvinas Islands.