Labour leader fails to condemn president
Jeremy Corbyn has said he takes “very seriously” UN allegations of human rights violations by security forces and pro-government armed groups in Venezuela, but again declined to directly condemn president Nicolas Maduro.
The Labour leader was criticised by a senior Venezuelan opposition politician, four of his own MPS and the government for failing to personally condemn Mr Maduro and his regime earlier this week.
Mr Corbyn has previously supported the country’s leftwing governments and has come under increasing pressure to publicly denounce Mr Maduro, who is cracking down on enemies following a widely disputed vote that gave his socialist regime near unlimited powers On Tuesday, a day after Mr Corbyn broke his silence to condemn violence inflicted by “all sides”, the UN’S human rights office said it unearthed “widespread and systematic use” of excessive force, arbitrary detention and other rights violations against demonstrators and detainees.