“We will fight, or we will die,” the Venezuelan Ambassador, His Excellency Gerardo Argote, said

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Feb. 21, 2019– The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, led by President Nicolás Maduro, has been under sustained pressure for some time now, and that pressure became more intense last month, when the United States recognized the Opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, who had declared himself the country’s interim president. Several other countries, including Britain, followed the US lead and also recognized Guaidó.

Notwithstanding its many challenges, the Maduro government continues to function and recently dispatched a new ambassador to Belize a month ago.

Yesterday, Wednesday, the Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to Belize, His Excellency, Ambassador Gerardo Argote, accompanied by his wife, visited Belize’s leading newspaper to update Amandala editor, Russell Vellos, and senior reporter, Rowland A. Parks, on the situation in his country.

Ambassador Argote said he has to tell us about the things that are happening in Venezuela. “Nobody can talk about what is happening in my country better than me,” the ambassador said.

Undoubtedly, there are many obstacles facing the South American country with the largest oil reserve in the Western Hemisphere; the pressures from the United States to oust its leader and the new sanctions imposed by the Donald Trump administration are some of the pressing issues facing the Maduro government.

Ambassador Argote, armed with maps and charts, explained how it was that Juan Guaidó came to prominence. Guaidó, the ambassador said, did not participate in the presidential election against Maduro, who was elected in the snap election that was held last May. The elections were scheduled to have been held in December 2018.

The two presidential candidates who opposed Maduro in the presidential election were Henri Falcón and Javier Bertucc. Juan Guaidó was elected as National Assembly Speaker, Ambassador Argote explained, so he had no right at all to make any claim to being an interim president. Ambassador Argote further explained that the Venezuelan constitution does not make any provision for an interim president.

“You are either the president, or you’re not the president,” he said.

The ambassador spoke of many things, including the daily attacks by the American, British and other media against Venezuela, saying that many lies were presented in their coverage of his country’s problems, which were caused, in the first instance, by the US administration’s hatred of his president, Nicolás Maduro.

“Why does the US hate Maduro?,” we asked him.

Ambassador Argote replied that it was because of former president Hugo Chavez, who was an unapologetic socialist, and was much hated by the US.

Maduro, he said, is a follower of Chavez, and refuses to be a puppet of American imperialism. Because of this, said the ambassador, Maduro is also hated by the US, which will do anything to bring about his downfall, aided by the American media, and media in countries allied with the US.

As regards Juan Guaidó, the ambassador said, “It’s crazy. He is a puppet of the United States. That man won as president of the Congress, so how could he become president?”

When we asked him which international media give fair coverage to Venezuela, Ambassador Argote said that Telsur provides good, accurate coverage, as well as Aljazeera.

He said that CNN and most of the American media deliver “fake news,” as well as the BBC.

“What does the so-called interim president, Guaidó, control?,” we asked Ambassador Argote.

“He controls Facebook and Twitter. He controls the social media networks,” Ambassador Argote explained, as he pulled out two identical pictures showing thousands of Venezuelans in a gathering.

Look carefully at the dates, he said. The two pictures, although they were the same, had different dates. “That’s it, fake news,” Ambassador Argote remarked.

We asked the Ambassador what ordinary Venezuelans think about the situation in his country presently.

“Right now, the normal people are afraid. Mr. Trump says all the options [including military] are on the table,” Ambassador Argote replied.

Ambassador Argote added, “We are a new generation of Venezuelans, we are socialists, we have the same rights.”

 “What is the truth about the food situation, because we are hearing all kinds of things”, we asked him.

Ambassador Argote explained that the people go about their daily business every day, but the Americans are not being truthful when they say that the sanctions were just imposed. “Sanctions have been imposed from 2013 under the Obama administration”, he said.

“Venezuela has two very large oil refineries in Texas and 6,000 gas stations on [the] east coast of the United States, but the US took those,” Ambassador Argote disclosed.

Ambassador Argote added that between the US and the UK, they have taken about 35 billion dollars worth of Venezuelan assets, which Venezuela needs to take care of its citizens.

“Then they turn around and say, you cannot take care of yourself, you are a broken state,” he said.

“How can President Maduro survive the onslaught of the United States and the other powers arrayed against him?” we asked.

“Yesterday, President Maduro accepted an envoy from Russia, who will bring almost 300 tons of medicine from Russia. We will pay for it. We are not begging. They want to put Venezuela as a begging country, but we are not beggars. This is the opposite of what the United States is doing,” he said.

“Venezuela will also be getting shipments of medicine from Cuba, India and China”, Ambassador Argote further explained. “And we will pay for them,” he said.

“What does the future hold for Venezuela?” we asked him.

“We will fight, or we will die,” the Ambassador simply replied.</s>Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump said Friday he intends to nominate the current American ambassador to Canada to be the new US ambassador to the United Nations.

Trump tweeted on Friday evening that he plans to nominate Kelly Knight Craft for the position, following former Ambassador Nikki Haley's resignation last year.

"I am pleased to announce that Kelly Knight Craft, our current Ambassador to Canada, is being nominated to be United States Ambassador to the United Nations," Trump wrote on Twitter

He followed up in a second tweet , saying, "Kelly has done an outstanding job representing our Nation and I have no doubt that, under her leadership, our Country will be represented at the highest level. Congratulations to Kelly and her entire family!"

Trump's announcement comes a week after his first pick to replace Haley, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, withdrew her candidacy

Haley on Friday tweeted congratulations to Craft, writing: "Congratulations to Kelly Craft. She's done a great job representing us as @USAmbCanada and we know she'll be a strong voice for America at the United Nations. #USstrong."

CNN reported earlier this week that Craft was being considered, along with US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, US Ambassador to France Jamie McCourt and former National Security Council official Dina Powell.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released a statement on Friday applauding Trump's announcement, saying he is "very pleased" and that Craft "has been an outstanding advocate for America's national security and economic interests in Canada and she is extremely well-qualified to do the same at the United Nations."

"I look forward to her confirmation and continuing to work with her at the United Nations," Pompeo said in the statement.

The Kentucky native and her husband, billionaire coal mining executive Joe Craft, have been heavyweight Republican funders. In the 2016 presidential race, they initially backed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be the Republican nominee for president before switching their allegiance to Trump.

The next year, Trump nominated Craft to be ambassador to Canada, a position she officially assumed in October 2017.

Shortly after arriving in Ottawa, Craft earned some ridicule for telling the CBC she understood "both sides" of the debate on climate change. Both, she said, "have their own results, from their studies, and I appreciate and I respect both sides of the science."

Craft is likely to encounter some wariness. Trump and his senior staff have made their dislike for the United Nations clear, earning the distrust of many at the institution and at times, their mockery. The President has referred to the world body as "just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time" and repeatedly attacked the institution's core principle of multilateralism.

When he addressed the UN General Assembly in 2018, Trump claimed his administration had achieved "more than almost any administration in the history of the country" -- and was met with open laughter.

National security adviser John Bolton, a former ambassador to the UN under President George W. Bush, was openly hostile toward the UN during his 2005 to 2006 tenure. The Trump administration has cut US contributions to the UN, pulled out of several of UN organizations and opposed core UN-backed initiatives in recent years, including the Paris Agreement on climate and the Iran nuclear deal.

Trump had wanted a woman to lead the US delegation at the United Nations, sources have told CNN. His original pick, Nauert, bowed out after it came to light that she had employed a nanny who was legally present in the US, but wasn't legally permitted to work.

The post, which had been a Cabinet level position under Haley, is widely expected to be downgraded.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had told aides he wanted the post downgraded after Haley leaves, an official familiar with his remark has told CNN. And Bolton has also been said to want the role downgraded, according to people familiar with his thinking.

The shift means Craft would wield less clout than her predecessor, both at the UN and within the administration, and as a result, would pose nowhere near the challenge to Bolton or Pompeo.

This story has been updated.</s>Trump nominates Kelly Craft to be U.S. ambassador to U.N.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he was nominating Kelly Craft, currently ambassador to Canada, to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.</s>President Trump announced in a tweet that he is nominating Kelly Knight Craft to be the ambassador the United Nations.

"I am pleased to announce that Kelly Knight Craft, our current Ambassador to Canada, is being nominated to be United States Ambassador to the United Nations," he tweeted late Friday afternoon. "Kelly has done an outstanding job representing our Nation and I have no doubt that, under her leadership, our Country will be represented at the highest level. Congratulations to Kelly and her entire family!"

Craft has been the ambassador to Canada since September 2017. She also served as an alternate U.N. delegate to the General Assembly in the George W. Bush administration.

Former State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert had been the nominee but days ago withdrew her nomination, citing family considerations. According to a senior administrative official, Nauert had an issue with a nanny she had employed that arose during her vetting that likely have been problematic during Congressional hearing, a development first reported by Bloomberg News.

The position of U.N. ambassador has to be approved by the Senate. Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley announced in October she would be leaving at the end of 2018.</s>President Donald Trump announced late Friday he will nominate U.S. Ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft as the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.

“I am pleased to announce that Kelly Knight Craft, our current Ambassador to Canada, is being nominated to be United States Ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump revealed.

“Kelly has done an outstanding job representing our Nation and I have no doubt that, under her leadership, our Country will be represented at the highest level. Congratulations to Kelly and her entire family!” Trump went on.

The pick comes after Nikki Haley left the post at the end of 2018, and replacement nominee Heather Nauert removed herself from consideration. Nauert withdrew due to the “grueling” impact on her family over the two months since she had been nominated.

“The past two months have been grueling for my family and therefore it is in the best interest of my family that I withdraw my name from consideration,” Nauert wrote. She has been serving as spokeswoman for the State Department.

Craft emerged as a frontrunner in the race for the position on Thursday with the backing of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell had also been in the running for the post with backing from Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) president Mort Klein.

Michelle Moons is a White House Correspondent for Breitbart News — follow on Twitter @MichelleDiana and Facebook</s>WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Friday evening that he will nominate Kelly Craft, the U.S. ambassador to Canada and a major Republican donor, to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Craft is set to succeed Nikki Haley, pending Senate confirmation, and is Trump’s second pick to replace Haley, who left the U.N. post at the end of last year. The president’s earlier candidate, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, withdrew from consideration last week before being formally nominated.

Trump praised Craft’s tenure representing his administration in Ottawa as “outstanding” as he made the announcement on Twitter.

“I am pleased to announce that Kelly Knight Craft, our current Ambassador to Canada, is being nominated to be United States Ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump wrote. “Kelly has done an outstanding job representing our Nation and I have no doubt that, under her leadership, our Country will be represented at the highest level. Congratulations to Kelly and her entire family!”

Trump had announced Nauert as his pick last December, but she was never formally nominated. She withdrew from consideration citing family concerns. People familiar with the situation said Nauert had employed a nanny who was not authorized to work in the United States.

Trump considered a number of candidates this week for the prestigious ambassadorship, which is based in New York, including Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell.

If confirmed, Craft is unlikely to hold the same Cabinet-level rank that Haley had made a condition of taking the job. Without that rank, the next U.N. ambassador is not likely to attend as many White House meetings as Haley did, and may be less influential.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who said he recommended Craft, a fellow Kentuckian, was quick to celebrate her selection and called it “an exceptional choice for this critical post.”

“Kelly Craft is a strong advocate for American interests and will be a powerful representative of our great nation at the U.N.,” McConnell said in a statement. “She has a long record of service to her state and the nation and I’m confident she will continue to serve with distinction as America’s voice to the world at the United Nations.”

Craft, 56, was a business executive and philanthropist before serving as ambassador to Canada. Her husband, Joe Craft, is president and CEO of coal producer Alliance Resource Partners.

The couple are major Republican donors, having given about $1.5 million to GOP candidates in 2016, including $270,800 to Trump’s committee or his joint fundraising committee with the Republican National Committee.

The Crafts also have been repeat, high-paying customers at Trump’s D.C. hotel, according to a list of “VIP Arrivals” distributed to hotel staff June 19, 2018. That list, obtained by The Washington Post, was intended to help staff identify the hotel’s most important customers as they checked in.

The Crafts were listed as gold-level members of the Trump Card rewards program, checking in for a three-day stay. They were also described as “high-rate” customers, and their listing bore the notation R(20), which former Trump hotels employees have said indicates customers who’ve stayed at least 20 times. That was an unusually high number, among the hundreds of Trump hotel guests whose VIP listings have been reviewed by The Post.

Kelly Craft was sworn in as ambassador to Canada in September 2017. The job representing the United States in Ottawa is a diplomatic plum, but not as sought-after a posting as those in European capitals.

The White House search for a replacement for Haley focused on female candidates, and those who had already been confirmed by the Senate for a current or past posting, people familiar with the selection process said. Craft also possesses a current security clearance, another plus, those people said.

Craft, who is hardly a household name, would lower the public profile of the U.N. job after Haley, whose prominence as a former South Carolina governor and national GOP star helped project Trump foreign policy priorities but whose independence sometimes rankled other aides.

Craft made headlines shortly after assuming her post in Canada, when she told Canadian Broadcasting Corp. News that she believes “both sides” of the climate change debate.

“I believe there are sciences on both sides that are accurate,” Craft told the Canadian broadcaster. “Both sides have their own results from their studies, and I appreciate and respect both sides of the science.”

Climate change is a major issue at the United Nations, which sponsored the 2015 Paris climate accords that President Trump has disavowed.

In the interview, Craft said the United States can still work to counter climate change despite pulling out of the international compact.

“We all have the same goal, and that is to better our environment and to maintain the environment,” she said.</s>U.S. President Donald Trump said in a tweet Friday night that U.S. Ambassador to Canada Kelly Knight Craft is being nominated to replace Nikki Haley as the ambassador to the United Nations.

“I am pleased to announce that Kelly Knight Craft, our current Ambassador to Canada, is being nominated to be United States Ambassador to the United Nations,” the tweet read.

Craft recently emerged as a front-runner for the position after gaining support from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for Kentucky, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton.

READ MORE: U.S. ambassador to Canada emerges as front-runner to represent U.S. at United Nations

Craft is a Kentucky native who was a member of the U.S. delegation to the UN General Assembly under president George W. Bush’s administration.

As U.S. ambassador to Canada, she played a role in facilitating the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, a revamp of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

More to come.</s>President Donald Trump said Friday he intends to nominate the current American ambassador to Canada to be the new US ambassador to the United Nations.

Trump tweeted on Friday evening that he plans to nominate Kelly Knight Craft for the position, following former Ambassador Nikki Haley’s resignation last year.

“I am pleased to announce that Kelly Knight Craft, our current Ambassador to Canada, is being nominated to be United States Ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

He followed up in a second tweet, saying, “Kelly has done an outstanding job representing our Nation and I have no doubt that, under her leadership, our Country will be represented at the highest level. Congratulations to Kelly and her entire family!”

This is a breaking story and will be updated.</s>Kelly Knight Craft, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, is President Donald Trump's nominee as his next United Nations ambassador.

"Kelly has done an outstanding job representing our Nation and I have no doubt that, under her leadership, our Country will be represented at the highest level," Trump wrote on Twitter.

If confirmed, Craft would fill a vacancy left after Nikki Haley resigned from the post last year and State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert withdrew from consideration over the weekend.

Though the president was considering a number of potential nominees, including the U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell.

Craft, a Kentucky native, is the wife of billionaire coal baron Joe Craft, who has donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration, and the couple served on the finance committee for Trump's inaugural. Joe Craft donated more than $1.6 million since 2011 to campaigns and super PACs connected to McConnell, who praised the nomination as an "exceptional choice."

During an interview with POLITICO on Thursday, Craft did not rule out interest in the post.

"I am committed to serving the president," Craft said. "I am committed at the moment to Canada."

The nomination comes amid growing frustration among U.S. allies about Trump’s actions on the world stage. His seemingly shaky commitment to NATO, his abrupt efforts to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and his attempts to wreck what’s left of the Iran nuclear deal have unnerved many longtime allies in Europe.

The U.N. position is also key to administration's current efforts to oust Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and convince North Korea to relinquish its nuclear weapons.

Craft's stock with Trump rose during the negotiations for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, a top priority for the president after he repeatedly denounced its predecessor, the North American Free Trade Agreement. Trump is now in the process of pushing Congress to ratify the USCMA deal.

Craft could also help deflect criticism that the Trump administration lacks women in top roles.

Craft has spent her time in Canada networking on the Ottawa social scene working to maintain a normally cordial relationship tested by Trump's bellicose approach to trade negotiations.

Canadians were so infuriated by national-security steel tariffs Trump slapped on the country that even some members of the Ottawa press gallery boycotted a July 4th party at Craft's official residence.

A snapshot of Craft's challenges in serving a president with a practically subterranean approval rating in Canada — recorded as low as 11 percent — was illustrated at an event she hosted last September. The ambassador had invited the local press to her home for a goodwill-building happy hour event. But she wound up having to retreat to work in the midst of the gathering when phones started buzzing with news that Trump was publicly trashing Canada’s government and professing his distaste for the country’s foreign minister.

But her enthusiasm for reaching out to people at a moment's notice has come in handy.

Canada’s ambassador to Washington, David MacNaughton, said she was helpful in frequently relaying high-level messages between the U.S. and Canada as they navigated the NAFTA negotiations.

MacNaughton also recalled an instance last fall, when the Canadians were struggling to bring in a top-level guest to a long-planned event at the Washington embassy on regulatory cooperation. Craft got on the phone to White House official Mick Mulvaney.

“Within 24 hours he confirmed his attendance,” MacNaughton told POLITICO. “She used to do stuff like that all the time. ... She’s been a good friend to Canada and a good friend of mine. ... I’m sorry to see her go.”

Still, Craft will likely received pointed questions during her confirmation hearing about remarks she has made on climate change, saying in an interview, “I believe there are scientists on both sides that are accurate.”

Before becoming ambassador to Canada, Craft served as an alternate delegate to the U.N. during George W. Bush's administration.

Read this next: Ivan Rogers slams UK government, again</s>Donald Trump is nominating Kelly Knight Craft to be the United States’ ambassador to the United Nations. Knight is currently the US ambassador to Canada.

The president announced his choice in a pair of tweets on Friday evening, saying: “Kelly has done an outstanding job representing our Nation and I have no doubt that, under her leadership, our Country will be represented at the highest level. Congratulations to Kelly and her entire family!”

The announcement comes a week after Trump’s first choice to replace Nikki Haley at the UN, the former Fox News host and state department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, withdrew her candidacy.

Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, announced her resignation last October and stepped down at the end of the year.

Knight Craft, who has donated to the Republican party, is married to Joseph Kraft, a billionaire coal magnate from Kentucky. It was reported on Thursday that Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky senator and Republican majority leader, had recommended her for the UN job.

In December 2018, as ambassador to Canada, Knight Craft made headlines about a key UN concern when she was asked in a television interview: “Do you believe in climate change?”

She answered: “I believe there are scientists on both sides that are accurate.”

Asked if she believed “there is science that proves that man is not causing climate change”, she said: “Well, I think that both sides have, you know, their own results from their studies, and I appreciate and respect both sides of the science.”

In June 2017, Trump, who has himself cast doubt on accepted climate science, withdrew the US from the Paris climate accord, a global pact designed to combat the effects of climate change.
U.S. President Donald Trump nominates U.S. Ambassador to Canada Kelly Knight Craft to be the new U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.