The addition of new countries to the extended US travel ban, including Venezuela, is an act of “political and psychological terrorism,” the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The revised version of the travel ban was announced Sunday by President Trump’s administration. Unlike North Korea, which was slapped with a blanket ban on all its citizens, restrictions on Venezuela concern only “government officials of Venezuela who are responsible for the identified inadequacies” in screening and vetting procedures.
The Venezuelan “government is uncooperative in verifying whether its citizens pose national security or public safety threats,” according to the document released by the White House.
Caracas criticized the move as an attempt to stigmatize Venezuela “under the guise of battling terrorism.”
“It is worth pointing out that these types of lists are incompatible with international law, and constitute a form of psychological and political terrorism,” the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday.
“They are imposing sanctions on our nation for our adherence to pacifism and for tolerance and respect toward different religions and beliefs, which are being practiced freely in our country,” the ministry added, stating that it rejects and “condemns terrorism in all forms.”
The travel ban is a new act of “aggression” against the country, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza told reporters on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Monday.
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“The US are constantly attacking us, there was new aggression yesterday, related to the visas for diplomats and their families,” Arreaza said. “This madness should be stopped.”
While delivering a speech at the General Assembly earlier that day, Arreaza accused Trump of using the UN as a stage to "declare war," completely disregarding the mission of the international body.
“As if he were the world’s emperor, President Donald Trump used this rostrum built for peace to announce war, the total destruction of member states, and the application of coercive unilateral and illegal measures,” Arreaza said. “Today we must report to the world that our people have been directly threatened by the President of the United States.”