Lebanese Hezbollah slams US ‘interference' in Venezuela

BEIRUT (AA) – Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Thursday evening slammed what it described as &quot;blatant&quot; efforts by Washington to &quot;destabilize&quot; Venezuela.</p> <p>&quot;The party [Hezbollah] strongly condemns the coup attempt against the country’s [i.e., Venezuela’s] legitimate authority, which the U.S. stands behind and is supporting,&quot; Hezbollah said in a statement.</p> <p>It went on to stress its support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his elected government.</p> <p>“The whole world knows that the goal of U.S. intervention isn’t to defend democracy and freedom as Washington claims, but to control the wealth and resources of the [targeted] country and punish sovereign states for their political choices,&quot; the statement read.</p> <p>Tensions escalated this week after Juan Guaido, leader of Venezuela’s opposition-led National Assembly, declared himself president, directly challenging the authority of the country’s elected president, Nicolas Maduro.</p> <p>On Wednesday, the U.S. recognized Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing feud between Washington and Maduro.</p> <p>Maduro has slammed the U.S. decision, vowing to suspend Venezuela’s relations with Washington and giving American diplomats 72 hours to leave the country.