Caracas, April 18 (RHC)-- The head of the Bolivarian Government's delegation for the Dialogue and president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, said Wednesday that Venezuela will not bow down to imperialism.

His statements came after the reactivation of sanctions by the U.S. government as a pressure measure. The President of the National Assembly was accompanied by the Governor, Héctor Rodríguez; the Attorney General of the Republic, Reinaldo Muñoz; the Human Rights Advisor of the Republic, Larry Davoe; as well as the President of Petróleos de Venezuela, Pedro Tellechea and the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Yván Gil.

In this regard, Rodriguez highlighted Washington's non-compliance with the agreements signed in Doha and Mexico. He backed up his statement with a series of documents bearing the signatures of the U.S. delegates, in which they pledged to abide by the MOU.

Rodriguez said that "the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is an autonomous nation, which does not allow foreign interference in its own affairs and does not tolerate ultimatums."

The president of the National Assembly referred on the occasion to the meetings with the Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs of the State Department, Brian Nichols.  In this respect, he said, "it is always better to tell the truth, because there is always proof of who is lying.  In September 2023, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the United States of America signed two memorandums of understanding, on the subject of migration and another on political, diplomatic and government-to-government relations."

He also recalled the different conversations that took place with the Barbados Agreement, on which several aspects have not been complied with by the United States and the United Democratic Platform (PUD).  He mentioned the failure to back the conversations 100 percent, the issuance of licenses to settle debts of several countries with Venezuela, with the exception of a payment related to Haiti.

The president of the National Assembly reiterated the rejection of any form of violence in the exercise of politics and any type of actions that attempt against the sovereignty, peace and territorial integrity of Venezuela. Both points subscribed by the U.S. representatives, are maintained, he said. 

Regarding the disqualification of Maria Corina Machado, Rodriguez said: "They did not find what to do with their internal situation and lied, instead of telling the truth bravely, instead they lied.  There are no names in the document, nor dates about the elections.  We kept our word, as decent people, with dignity."

He further reiterated that according to what was described in the memorandums, the United States should have completely lifted the sanctions by March 4, 2024.  As of today, April 17th, this is not only unfulfilled, but also morally disrespected by the U.S. empire.

Jorge Rodríguez considered that the new sanctions announced today to impose on Venezuela constitute a measure of pressure.  "They do not want free elections in Venezuela, because free elections would mean that we would all be free to use the money they have seized.  Despite these sanctions and pressures Venezuela has grown and will be the country whose GDP will grow even more.  We are going to continue to go forward," he said.