Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Humanitarian aid is going in. It is genuine humanitarian aid and is not going in under another guise. The elections in 2018 were carried out under the same rules and procedures as the elections in 2015, with over 200 electoral observers present. Several opposition parties took part, they got 3 million votes as opposed to 6 million for President Maduro. One element of the opposition did not take part and we know who that was.

President Maduro has stressed the importance of multilateral negotiations and the significance of the UN. There are humanitarian issues but we know that they are arising as a result of the sanctions that have been imposed over several years. These are the same kind of sanctions that are crippling Cuba. Ireland has always been a strong voice against the sanctions imposed on Cuba. We know there is a US agenda. The US has been very open about its agenda to increase the number of military bases and the need for regime change. Reference has been made to "all options on the table", another phrase for military invasion. The US National Security Adviser, John Bolton, stated in a media interview that he was in talks with US oil companies to produce oil in Venezuela. There are questions regarding the US special envoy to Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, and his track record in Central America. Ireland has to be strong on peace.

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