Link: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/9/22/venezuela-cuba-denounce-us-hegemony-in-unga-speeches
During a recent speech at the United Nations (virtual) General Assembly Venezuela’s President Maduro called for the U.N. to rally against sanctions imposed by the U.S.. Maduro advocated for the sanctions imposed on Venezuela, and his government’s allies Cuba, Nicaragua, and Syria to be removed. Over the past two years the U.S. government has increased sanctions on Venezuela in an effort to push Maduro out of power.
The U.S. officially recognizes Juan Guadio as president of Venezuela, this follows the 2018 election, which Madero has been accused of rigging. Madero has overseen a six year economic collapse within Venezuela, which was once a prosperous OPEC nation. The dramatic economic failures seen in Venezuela have been attributed to failed economic policies. Economic distress and instability lead to unrest, as seen in Venezuela. The sanctions that the U.S. placed on Venezuela are an attempt to increase the frustration towards Madero, thus reducing his power.
In his recent speech Madero condemned the U.S. for criticizing the work of the WHO and conveyed that the world needs to be united in the fight against COVID-19. Both the Venezuelan president and Cuban Foreign Minister Parrilla conveyed that the world needs to fight hegemony and imperialism while alluding to the U.S. government. While Madero claimed that the world leaders need to unite, his speech encouraged friction between governments.
The relationship between the Trump and Madero administrations has drastically deteriorated, therefore Maduro was not concerned with creating an agreement with the U.S.. His intention was to paint a negative picture of the world power. His speech comes only a week after the United Nations accused the Maduro administration of carrying out crimes against humanity. The aim of the Venezuelan and Cuban governments was to facilitate distrust and negative feelings towards the U.S.. Perhaps this was a strategy to distract from their own wrongdoings.