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We asked him first about the US decision to freeze the accounts of the Venezuelan government:

Jules Vasquez, reporter
"How much would the US accept blame for the immoral freezing of the monetary assets of Venezuelan government? They claimed 35 billion is being fraudulently withheld and this is what is causing the humanitarian crisis."

Keith Gilges, U.S. Charge d Affaires
"Anybody to claimed that an action took one month ago is causing a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela has been asleep for the past 6 years."

H.E. Gerardo Argote, Venezuelan Ambassador to Belize
"Maybe if you work so hard for one month and then you earn your money, because you work hard and then you go to your home and take your money. And I say okay I will take your money because I say so and then you say okay, but how I could manage my home? How I could feed my children. I don't care, because I don't like you."

"They took our money. They pressure us. They put the people in hard conditions and they say you have to resign. You are not, you can't. Why? Let us live in peace."

Keith Gilges, U.S. Charge d Affaires
"The government that exist there currently does not represent the will of the people. The election that took place, the previous election it was fraudulent. It was a sham. It jailed the opposition. Media houses were shot."

H.E. Gerardo Argote
"Here you see the last election 2018 May, it was a clear election with 4 candidates. Nicholas Maduro he won 67.84 percent of the votes. It means that he almost win by 6 million votes. 6 million people who voted for him."

"Mr. Guaido, he won in the parliament in the congress. He won in real small state, small province n Venezuela and he won by 90,000 votes."

Keith Gilges
"Maduro has run Venezuela into the ground and its now a humanitarian crisis. It's also a crisis of hope and what we are supporting is the Venezuelan people lead initiative by the only remaining democratically elected institution in Venezuela which is the national assembly lead by Juan Guaido."

H.E. Gerardo Argote
"What could happen with me in some country if someday I go to the market and I declare myself the president of some country? What could happen with me? If we start to read about the constitution and the civil codes in those countries, maybe I will be in jail in a few hours."

Keith Gilges
"He declared himself interim president to move towards free and fair elections within 30 days. What the United States and most of the international community that has taken a position on this has said is that we recognize the legitimacy of Guaido, not Maduro."

H.E. Gerardo Argote
"You see in blue and red. In blue, countries who support Mr. Guaido and you see in red, countries who support President Maduro. If we have 193 countries who belongs to the United Nations. Guaido only 24.87 percent of the world's recognition. One has to ask does Guaido really have the backing of the world."

Jules Vasquez, reporter
"What happens next? One feels, just an observer with some sense of history when one sees persons like Eliot Abrams, one thinks that the cold war CIA playbook has been brought out. One feels the US is doing this sort of Chile/Ayende 1972 thing and we know this often does not work."

Keith Gilges
"Thats looking backward and of course every country has a history and one would hope by knowing that history you can learn from it. What we are doing now is looking for forward and saying the best hope for the people of Venezuela to come out of this tragedy that overtaking the country now, is a peaceful resolution that involved free and fair elections."

H.E. Gerardo Argote
"I dont want to talk about a lot military intervention that have been in some countries as Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Grenada, El Salvador and so far. I don't want to talk about this. But the peole has to know, So Venezuela will be the next one. we don't want to. We can fix our problems inside our country between Venezuelans."

Keith Gilges
"That hope is through Guaido. That's the best opportunity. Is Maduro part of Venezuela's future? No he is not."

Jules Vasquez, reporter
"Is the US prepare to use military means to eject someone you all believe is a usurper?"

Keith Gilges
"We recognise the legitimacy of Juan Guaido. For the mechanism I would refer you back to statements that have made by the White House."

H.E. Gerardo Argote
"For me could be a strong country the Russian Federation. They support the democracy of Venezuela. For me I don't know, maybe, the popular republic of China - could be a strong country. I dont know. Maybe India, maybe Iran, maybe Turkey, maybe the whole African continent, maybe the Caribbean."

Jules Vasquez, reporter
"Anyone with an astute and informed world view will know that Venezuela has powerful allies in China and Russia and it is not unforeseeable that, particularly because oil is involved, China and Russia may get involved in supporting the Maduro regime. Is this a concern that it becomes a sort of, again, a battlefield of empires?"

Keith Gilges
"Both Russia and China have prompted up the Maduro regime for a long time. There is an old adage that if I owe you a million dollars, I have a problem. If I owe you a billion dollars, you have a problem."

H.E. Gerardo Argote
"I know that we will win. How? You will see, because as President Maduro says it, we have plan, A, B and C and we are not alone. Remember that. So we are prepared. As I hear, we have all the cards on the table. We can answer. We are prepared for that. So let's wait."

According to the Reuters news agency, the Russian Foreign Minister today told the U.S. Secretary of State via telephone that Washington should avoid any interference, including military, in Venezuela's internal affairs.