The president’s response to Cabello

Luis Abinader, President of the Dominican Republic, responded to a question about the warnings made by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Justice and Peace of Venezuela, Diosdado Cabello, that after the delivery of the plane he will catch it “on the low,” referring to oil.

“We don’t have oil, but our economy is bigger than Venezuela’s, so we will continue to defend democratic principles, now in government and for as long as we live,” Abinader responded.

He assured that the Dominican Republic will continue working with the international community to “defend democracy and the desire of the Venezuelan people” and that his government will continue to support the resolutions on this matter of the Organization of American States (OAS).

Regarding the existence of a second aircraft on Dominican soil, Abinader limited himself to pointing out that they have no further legal notification of another aircraft belonging to the Venezuelan government.

The Dominican Republic recently handed over to the United States an official plane belonging to Nicolás Maduro that had been in the country since May for maintenance, which Washington claimed as part of the sanctions applied to Caracas.

The Dominican president’s statements were made during a press conference in which he was accompanied by the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.

Blinken stressed that “putting Venezuela on a democratic path is of utmost importance, first and foremost, for the Venezuelan people,” but also for the entire hemisphere and for other countries that have expressed concern about the situation in the South American country.

“We are very concerned about the course of events in Venezuela after the elections, where the will of the people could not have been clearer. Unfortunately, that will and their votes have not been reflected in what has happened since then,” Blinken said in reference to the July 28 presidential election.