President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro has accused groups working within the United States of attempting to destabilize his government and even direct physical harm.
Tensions ignited last week when RT reported that the United States denied the entrance of the Venezuelan presidential aircraft to fly over Puerto Rican airspace. President Maduro was on his way to China. Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States; therefore, requests are made to the State Department. It is unclear why the airplane of a head of state was denied entrance, but the United States quickly detracted its position after a furious response from several Latin American leaders.
This week President Maduro did not attend meetings at the United Nations General Assembly amidst reports of great dangers to his person. On his return trip from China President Maduro received intelligence of provocations awaiting him in New York. The Venezuelan president stated: “When I got into Vancouver I evaluated the intelligence which we received from several sources. I decided then and there to continue back to Caracas and drop the New York trip to protect a key goal: safeguarding my physical integrity, protecting my life,” as was reported by Al Jazeera.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson denied any plot against the Venezuelan president in U.S. territory and said: “It was his decision not to come. There were no obstacles in his journey.” Ms. Jacobson reiterated that the U.S. wishes to have a good productive relationship with Venezuela. However, President Obama has yet to recognize the election results that brought Nicolas Maduro to power last April.
My Beat: Latin America 