Ireland is not adopting a “softly softly” stance in response to US involvement in Venezuela, according to the Tánaiste.
Simon Harris said he would not characterise the Trump administration’s strikes on Venezuela, or the overnight detention of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, as “kidnapping”, reports Breaking News.
He described the action as an “operation to remove” Maduro, whom he said lacked democratic legitimacy and was believed by the US to be involved in narco-terrorism and responsible for inflicting “misery and pain on countless people”.
Maduro appeared before a New York court on Monday, where he pleaded not guilty to charges of “narco-terrorism” and claimed he was being held as a prisoner of war, reports Breaking News.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Harris said: “The fact that Maduro is gone from power is a good thing. He’s a brutal dictator who had no democratic legitimacy,” reports Breaking News.
“He categorically, fundamentally, resoundingly lost an election and was bringing pain and misery to his people,” reports Breaking News.
“There was somebody who democratically won the election in Venezuela, and that’s quite clear as well,” reports Breaking News.
“I do think this is complex when it comes to international law. I do think that’s fair, but the reality is this individual was not a democratically elected state, was not a legitimate head of state, wasn’t recognised by Ireland, by the European Union, by the United States of America,” reports Breaking News.
He added: “He’ll now face justice and through a court system – something that I’m sure he wouldn’t afford to make people in his own country,” reports Breaking News.
When asked whether he believed the Trump administration should seek to remove dictators in other countries, Mr Harris said: “Firstly, we didn’t go in anywhere but it’s hard for me to express sympathy for Maduro,” reports Breaking News.
He added: “The complexity here is the fact that Maduro was not a democratically elected head of state and was, in the view of the United States, posing a very significant danger to them,” reports Breaking News.
Questioned on whether the US should have pursued the matter through the International Criminal Court, Mr Harris said Ireland’s support for international institutions is “well known”, reports Breaking News.
Asked about reports that a US aircraft flew over Ireland to monitor an oil tanker in the Atlantic, the Tánaiste said he was “truthfully not aware” whether permission had been granted by the Irish State, but added that he assumed “very clear rules” governing transit through Irish airspace had been followed.
The Marinera, a Russian-flagged tanker formerly known as the Bella 1, appears to be travelling north-east across the Atlantic, with several media reports claiming it had evaded US President Donald Trump’s “total naval blockade” of Venezuela, which has been in place since late December, reports Breaking News.
Mr Harris said: “Ireland is a neutral country and a neutral country means we’re not militarily aligned, but that doesn’t mean that we’re in any way immune from or unconcerned about security,” reports Breaking News.
He added that Russia is “carrying out a war on the continent of Europe” and “is not a friend of Ireland”, reports Breaking News.
Addressing US threats to annex Greenland, Mr Harris said the territory belongs to Denmark and forms part of the European Union.
He added: “Anything to do with Greenland is a matter for the people of Greenland,” reports Breaking News.
Mr Harris also said he supported comments made by Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen that Greenland’s security is strengthened by Denmark’s membership of both the EU and Nato, reports Breaking News.
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