Venezuelan president: Israel, US behind Morsi ouster

Caracas recalls its ambassador from Cairo in protest of the military-backed government’s crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro 370 (photo credit: Reuters)
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro 370
(photo credit: Reuters)
Venezuela’s president accused Israel and the United States of conspiring to oust former Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi and stirring unrest in Syria, the AFP news agency reported on Saturday.
The news comes as Caracas recalled its ambassador from Egypt in protest of the military-backed government’s crackdown on Morsi’s Islamist supporters and the Muslim Brotherhood.
“We have witnessed a blood bath in Egypt,” President Nicolas Maduro was quoted as saying. “We warned that the coup against Morsi was unconstitutional. Morsi was kidnapped and the responsible party for what is occurring in Egypt is the [American] empire, which has its hands in it."
"The United States doesn't have friends, it has interests, and what it wants is to control the planet,” Maduro added.
Venezuela has allied itself with forces that are hostile to Western interests in the Middle East, chief among them Iran. Despite their geographical distance, the fiery anti-US ideologues have forged increasingly close ties between their fellow OPEC nations in recent years, although concrete projects have often lagged behind the rhetoric.
While Venezuela has expressed its disgust over the events in Egypt, the army’s crackdown against Islamist forces in the country has garnered the backing of pro-Western regimes in the region, including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Gulf states, including Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, according to Israel Radio.
The US expressed its displeasure with Cairo by canceling planned military exercises, though it has thus far refrained from slashing the $1.5 billion annual military aid package that it provides to its key ally.
The leaders of Germany, France, Britain and Italy urged the European Union on Friday to send a united message condemning the violence in Egypt, with Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel calling on Brussels to review its ties with the country.
Merkel and French President Francois Hollande called for EU foreign ministers to meet next week to discuss the nature of the bloc's ties with Cairo.
Reuters contributed to this report.