Dear Minister of the
Popular Power for Foreign Relations of the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro:
I would like first
of all to thank you for having favorably received, toward the end of
last year, my opinions regarding the restablishment of diplomatic
relations with the United States of America, as also did the team of
the then President elect of that country, Barack Obama. On behalf of
many Venezuelans and of many U.S. citizens of both Hispanic and Anglo
descent, I sincerely value your efforts to improve the relationship
between both governments.
In the United States there has
certainly been a misunderstanding not only about the Venezuelan
reality, but also about the reality in the rest of the planet until
quite recently. The acceleration of globalization during the last two
decades; however, has already started reversing their unawareness for
all things foreign. Every time more U.S. citizens learn languages
such as Spanish or Chinese and submit their passport applications in
order to travel to foreign countries. The most recent example of this
learning process can actually be seen on the Globovisión news
network interview to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton,
who documented herself before the interview, learn the exact date of
our independence and congratulated us for our most important national
holiday at the beginning of her interview. I consider this detail as
friendly toward our country.
The U.S. Secretary
of State explicitly acknowledges the right that Venezuela and other
countries have to maintain relations with other nations, particularly
with Iran and Cuba. What she clarifies is that there are issues on
Venezuelan foreign policy that the United States do not agree with.
Similarly, the Venezuelan government emits opinions against or in
favor of specific actions regarding U.S. foreign policy. Both nations
sovereignly have spaces to emit either their support or opposition
toward a number of issues in foreign policy. Furthermore, in the
United States they could argue that in Venezuela continues the
generations old practice of discrediting anything that may come from
the United States democracy.
I agree with all of you that is
is quite difficult to believe in the sincerity of the intentions to
restore any bilateral relationship as so many previous
misunderstandings persist. However, as the legitimate diplomats
representing all Venezuelans, including those who openly sympathize
with the U.S. institutions and economic and technological
achievements, and also those who amply question them, you at the
Ministry of the Popular Power for the External Relations of the
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela have the duty of not being afraid to
the negotiations that you are undertaking with the U.S. authorities.
You have the duty to clarify which kinds of future signals from the
United States would not be qualified as awkward and aggressive
towards Venezuela, Latin America and the Caribbean.
We
maintain the hope that once more frequent clarifications and
amendments are proactively established among both parties, we will
approach the common objective that you seek: “for the good of the
relationship bewteen the government of the United States and the
Bolivarian government of Venezuela.”
Rivero & Cooper, Inc.
