Venezuela FM to meet Hizballah chief during Lebanon visit

Venezuela FM to meet Hizballah chief during Lebanon visit
Lebanese media is speculating Venzuela's foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza will meet Hizballah chief Hassan Nasrallah on his official visit to Beirut.
2 min read
03 April, 2019
Jorge Arreaza arrived in Lebanon late on Tuesday [Getty]

Venezuela’s foreign minister may meet the Hizballah chief Hassan Nasrallah during his trip to Lebanon, local reports suggest.

Foreign Minister Jorge Arreza arived in Beirut on Tuesday evening on a two-day visit. He met Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Wednesday morning along with Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil before speaking to reporters.

He told reporters that opposition leader Juan Guaido is in breach of the constitution and that the judiciary has to "take care" of it after he declared himself as interim president in what is widely perceived as a coup.

Venezuela's National Constituent Assembly, loyal to President Nicolas Maduro, has stripped Guaido of his immunity, putting him at risk of arrest for supposedly violating the constitution when he declared himself interim president in January.

"He is in breach of most part of the constitution, so the judiciary has to take care of those who violated the Venezuelan law," Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza told reporters in Beirut.

The United States and roughly 50 other nations recognize Guaido as Venezuela's interim leader, asserting that Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate.

Arreza is also expected to meet with the Hizballah leadership after much support from the Shia bloc during the Venezuela unrest earlier this year, according to local newspaper al-Joumhouria.

During the Caracas political crisis in January, Hizballah pressed support for socialist leader Maduro.

Hizballah MP Mohammad Raad condemned “flagrant American intervention” in Venezuelan affairs and reaffirmed the group’s support for Maduro at the time.

He also led a Hizballah delegation to the Venezuelan Embassy in Beirut.

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