News

US Should Respect Changes in Venezuela, Says Shannon
El Universal
May 13, 2009

Western Hemisphere

The US government should respect changes in Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador when talking with these countries, said on Wednesday Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon.

"These countries have significantly and historically changed; there are new leaderships, new sectors of the society have significant voices, and we should bear this in mind," said Shannon during the annual meeting of the Council of the Americas held in the Department of State, Washington, D.C., AFP quoted.

"We must ensure that our dialogue will respect these internal changes," he added.

Shannon noted that in the Summit of the Americas recently held in Trinidad, the United States managed to "take important steps" as to the affairs with Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador. US relations with these countries have been lately strained.

The senior official noted, however, that the relations with these countries "are different," entail "different challenges" and will be faced differently.

With Venezuela, he remembered that an agreement was reached to appoint again their ambassadors to Caracas and Washington, who left in September 2008, when the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez expelled the US chief of mission in solidarity with Bolivia.

On Tuesday, the White House appointed Arturo Valenzuela to succeed Shannon as the new official responsible for Western Hemisphere Affairs.

Back >>>

NOTE: The Venezuela Information Office is dedicated to informing the American public about contemporary Venezuela, and receives its funding from the government of Venezuela. More information is available from the FARA office of the Department of Justice in Washington DC.

Venezuela Information Office
2000 P Street NW, Suite 240 Washington, DC 20036  tel: (202) 347-8081  fax: (202) 223-8029