DISINFO: The West tried to carry out a coup in Venezuela
SUMMARY
The West is trying to overthrow the Venezuelan legally elected President by violating all legal norms. What the West does is absolutely illegal. The West thinks only of its own interests and turns to the defence of human rights only when it can benefit from it.
RESPONSE
No evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about the West meddling in and destabilising countries around the world. Nicolas Maduro was officially re-elected president of Venezuela on May 20, 2018. Several Venezuelan NGOs, such as Foro Penal Venezolano, Súmate, Voto Joven, the Venezuelan Electoral Observatory and the Citizen Electoral Network, expressed their concern over the irregularities of the electoral schedule, including the lack of the Constituent Assembly's competencies to summon the elections, impeding participation of opposition political parties, and the lack of time for standard electoral functions. After that the European Union, the Organization of American States, the Lima Group, Australia and the United States expressed concerns on electoral process. In the declaration on behalf of the EU on the situation in Venezuela the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini reiterated that the presidential elections last May in Venezuela were neither free, fair, nor credible, lacking democratic legitimacy. The EU has called for the urgent holding of free, transparent and credible presidential elections in Venezuela. Food shortages, poverty and hyperinflation (which according to the IMF estimates is about to reach over 10 million % based on the average consumer prices) have generated a wave of 3 millions refugees from Venezuela and the protests in Venezuela itself, when President of the National Assembly of Venezuela Juan Guido stepped in as an interim president on the basis of the Venezuelan Constitution. Read more here.