Venezuela Protests News: Nicolás Maduro Rejects John Kerry's Claims Of 'Insurgents' In Caracas

Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro has rejected claims by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that the country is facing "insurgents." Kerry today revealed that the United States government is "deeply concerned" for Venezuela but will continue to support a dialog between Maduro's government and members of the opposition. A statement from Caracas read that "these declarations....have been made to incit the reacitonary elements of the opposition towards violent action."

Venezuela has outright rejected "the declarations of insurgency made by Secretary of State John Kerry, which seek to create a false impression of the Bolivarian Government with regards to the process of dialog between the Government and the opposition, under initiative by president Nicolás Maduro." The statmemtn also indicates that Kerry's statements "also reflect a profound lack of knowledge for the Venezuelan reality" and called the accusations a sign of "insolence against UNASUR and the Holy See in the process of dialog towards national peace."

"It is surprising that, with these declarations, the Government of the United States would be considering as legitimate forms of protest the burning of universities and buses of food, as well as the vandalism of public institutions...as well as the murder of innocent citizens." Nicolás Maduro's government reiterated that it would continue its dialog "without interruption from any external forces," and reiterated its gratefulness to member states of the UNASUR and the Vatican.