Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says his government will seek the help of international organizations to achieve freedom for diplomat Alex Saab, who was extradited from Cape Verde to the United States.
"In the United Nations, in New York, in the human rights organizations, we are moving at all levels ... the fight for the truth, for innocence and the freedom of Alex Saab continues," Maduro said in a Sunday speech broadcast on state television.
The president emphasized that Saab was "kidnapped" without an arrest warrant, which violates international rights and is a grave crime. He called Saab's extradition a stab in the back on the part of the US and accused Washington of intentionally disrupting the negotiations with the opposition.
Venezuela's opposition on Sunday called on the government to resume the Mexico-hosted negotiations that Caracas suspended over Saab's extradition from Cape Verde to the US. The government announced the decision to suspend its participation on Saturday when Saab was flown to the US.
US Department of Justice spokesperson Nicole Navas Oxman told Sputnik that the Venezuelan diplomat will appear before court in Florida on Monday.
Saab was en route to Iran on a humanitarian mission for the Venezuela government when he was arrested during a fuel stop in Cape Verde last year, on a US extradition warrant. In September, the Constitutional Court of Cape Verde rejected an appeal by Saab's lawyers, thereby supporting his extradition to the United States.
Last month, the Venezuelan government officially included Saab in its delegation to the talks with the opposition.
The Venezuelan government and the opposition signed a memorandum to seek the resolution of the ongoing political crisis in the country on August 13. The memorandum was signed at the first round of negotiations between the government and the opposition in Mexico City. The third round of talks concluded at the end of September. (ANI/Sputnik)
( With inputs from ANI )
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