Faber Slams Government’s ‘Timid’ Venezuela Response

UDP Senator Patrick Faber has sharply criticized the government’s response to recent events in Venezuela. According to Faber, the statement released by the Briceño administration on January fifth didn’t clearly spell out Belize’s foreign policy position and even avoided naming the United States as the force behind the military operation. He argues Belize is hiding behind CARICOM instead of standing firm on its own principles, and he suggests the government is more focused on keeping Washington happy than asserting an independent stance.

 

Patrick Faber, Lead Opposition Senator

“On January fifth, the PUP government of Belize made a statement on this matter and the honest truth that statement reads like a generic press release, one that they felt just obliged to put out something, but that it does not communicate, did not then and does not now, communicate any serious foreign policy position. If you read the statement it does not even name the U.S. as the actor that carried out military operation in Venezuela and even though the statement admits the Venezuelan president was removed by force, the omission of the name of the country that carried it out, the actor was not there. This omission matters because international law does not allow regime change by military action. The release of the PUP hides behind CARICOM instead of leading. Belize aligns with a regional statement but refuses to say what Belize itself believes about the legality or legitimacy about what occurred. The statement reads like a government that is afraid to offend Washington rather than one that is confident in its principles.”