Hugo Chávez Frías, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, considered the decision by newly-inaugurated U.S. President Barack Obama to close the Guantanamo prison camp and to prohibit torture to be good signs.
“Venezuela is full of hope for the world to take the path towards reason and peace,” he said on Friday during a meeting relating to political party positions in the January 23rd neighborhood of western Caracas.
“I am very happy and the world is happy that a U.S. President has arrived with good intentions, as is reflected by the fact that he took this measure at the start of his term. In any case, I think we have to wait calmly, as Fidel mentioned in his most recent reflection,” said the President.
He also noted: “I think Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip is related to this. In any event, they withdrew before Obama assumed the [presidency].”
President Chávez commemorated the 51st anniversary of January 23rd, 1958, when dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez was overthrown.
In the past, the “United States did not allow a government to progress if it deviated from the imperial position, but my have things changed in these past years. Now, it is worth it to wait calmly for the United States, more so with the new administration of President Barack Obama,” added President Chávez.
Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias (ABN), Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Press Office / January 23, 2009
