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Kerry: US not to blame for Venezuela's woes

US Secretary of State denies Washington has a hand in unrest in Caracas and extends the olive branch to Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro

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Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro, speaks at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

US Secretary of State John Kerry denied on Wednesday that Washington was behind a wave of protests in Venezuela, adding that tensions between the two countries have lasted too long.

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has convened talks with social and political actors in an attempt to end three weeks of sometimes deadly anti-government protests in the deeply divided country.

“Regrettably, President Maduro keeps choosing to blame the United States for things we are not doing or for things that they are unhappy about in their own economy and in their own society,” Kerry said.

The Venezuelan president has pushed for a renewal of ties between the two countries, which have not had full ambassadors since 2010, reflecting the bad blood between the trade partners since late president Hugo Chavez came to power in 1999.

US Secretary of State John Kerry. Photo: AFP
US Secretary of State John Kerry. Photo: AFP
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“We’re prepared to have a change in this relationship, this tension between our countries has gone on for too long in our view,” Kerry said.

“But we are not going to sit around and be blamed for things we have never done.”

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