Venezuela’s Maduro Warns Western Powers Aim to Destroy Russia to Stop ‘Multipolar’ World

President Nicolás Maduro warned that a “media dictatorship” could lead to a “Third World War.”
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro raises his right fist.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro greets the crowd at the 16th National History Congress.

Mexico City, Mexico, April 11, 2022 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro warned that a multifaceted campaign by Western countries to isolate Russia was aimed at destroying the country in order to deter the development of a “multipolar” world.

“From Venezuela we denounce it, [Western countries] want to go to a war to dismember Russia, break it into pieces, destroy it and end the hope of a multipolar world where we can all live,” declared President Maduro Friday at the National History Congress held in La Guaira.

Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution has long defended the idea of a multipolar world, where countries would be free of domination by US hegemony.

Maduro signaled that the campaign against Russia, a strong ally of Venezuela, was being driven by a “Western media dictatorship” that promoted “obscene lies and campaigns against humanity.”

The president further warned that left unchecked, this campaign could lead to a “Third World War.”

The statement by the Venezuelan leader came on the heels of a vote at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly that saw Russia removed from the Human Rights Council. Russia was ousted from the key UN body after a motion to suspend the country was passed with 93 votes in favor, 24 against and 58 abstentions.

Venezuela publicly opposed the motion but could not vote on the measure due to having its voting rights suspended since January as a result of being in arrears with the multilateral body due to the US-led sanctions campaign.

“As a founding member of the United Nations Organization, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reiterates its commitment to the principles and mandate of its Founding Charter, and rejects the decision to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council,” wrote Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia on Twitter.

US politicians such as former United States Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley quickly seized on the results of the vote to call for a similar ouster of Venezuela, Cuba, and China from the Human Rights Council. Venezuela was elected to serve a three-year term on the council in 2019.

Both Nicaragua and Cuba condemned the resolution and raised alarms about the process used to oust Russia, warning it could set a dangerous new precedent.

“Today it is Russia, but tomorrow it could be any of our countries, particularly nations of the South that do not bow to the interests of domination and firmly defend their independence,” said Cuban UN Ambassador Pedro Luis Pedroso Cuesta.

Venezuela has also previously warned against using the human rights system for political ends.

The US and its allies have engaged in a concerted effort to isolate Russia and President Vladimir Putin after he authorized what he called a “special military operation” in neighboring Ukraine.

Fallout from the Russia-Ukraine conflict led the Biden administration to send a high-level delegation to negotiate directly with Maduro, in what some political analysts deemed an effort to drive a wedge between Caracas and Moscow.

Caracas nonetheless maintained its public support for Russia, having strengthened its ties with the Eurasian country following a visit by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov in February.

Foreign Minister Plasencia has also gone on the record to state that any deal to resume oil supplies to the US would be contingent on Washington recognizing Nicolás Maduro as president.

Venezuela has called for a “peaceful resolution” to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine on repeated occasions.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.