Paraguay Insists that Venezuela and Ecuador were Involved in their Crisis

Paraguayan government presented a video, in which, according to authorities, it would prove Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro, met with military leaders to attempt a rising in favor of ousted president Fernando Lugo.

Defense minister of Paraguay, Mary Liz Garcia, released on Tuesday a video without audio of the meeting allegedly made before the start of the session in the Senate that ended with the dismissal of Lugo.

The alleged meeting would have be done in the offices of the military cabinet in the government palace, where commanders of the army, navy, and air force would have attended.

The images show several Latin American foreign ministers: Maria Angela Holguin (Colombia), Nicolas Maduro (Venezuela) and Ricardo Patiño (Ecuador). Garcia asserted that Ecuador’s ambassador in Paraguay, Julio Prado, also attended the meeting.

So far, the Venezuelan government has not reacted on these allegations.

Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño, has denied any contact with the Paraguayan military command. The Chancellor said to Ecuador television network Gamatv that together with their counterparts of Unasur they reached Asuncion one day before the removal of President Fernando Lugo and immediately distributed responsibilities to speak with political sectors.

He said the foreign ministers gathered at the presidential headquarters to accompany Fernando Lugo in “the difficult time he lived.” (FL)