Maduro: Mariano Rajoy funds Venezuela’s fascist right

In a speech delivered during a military ceremony yesterday, Nicolás Maduro publically called Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy “very corrupt.” He also accused him of being “the political patron and financial arm of the Venezuelan fascist right.” 

The Spanish daily El País today reminds its readers that “the government of Caracas has been denouncing, through its media network of information and propaganda, that the businessman from Galicia, Manuel Jove Capellán – identified by Venezuelan state media as “the great financial backer of the Partido Popular – and the company Veta, constitute a source of funding for destabilizing actions against the [Venezuelan] regime.” 

During the same ceremony Maduro accused opposition leader Henrique Capriles of traveling to Chile in order to meet pinochetistas and seek support for a military coup in Venezuela. Maduro also announced that the he is terminating the Venezuela-United States approach as a response to the recent declarations by Samantha Powers. 

El País ends its note with this assessment: “Official media in Venezuela has immediately given wide circulation to the threats by Maduro, which would indicate that they represent a deliberate turn in foreign policy and not a momentary outburst by President.”