Maduro Wants Better Relations with US

…but based on respect for sovereingty

HAVANA TIMES — At the funeral of Hugo Chavez today, acting Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro said that he wants good relations with the United States, but ones based on respect for sovereignty, reported the dpa news service.

Maduro thanked US President Barack Obama for sending former Massachusetts congressman Bill Delahunt (D) and New York lawmaker Gregory Meeks, along with the Reverend Jesse Jackson, to lead the US delegation to Chavez’s funeral.

“We love all the peoples of Our America, but we want relations of respect, of cooperation, of true peace. We want — as Commander Chavez wrote — a world without empires, without hegemonic nations, a world of peace that respects international law,” said Maduro in an emotional speech.

Chavez died on Tuesday at the age of 58 after battling cancer in his abdominal area. The ailment had been first detected in mid-2011.

Before leaving for Cuba for the last time in December, Chavez had announced his decision to choose Maduro as a possible successor in the event of a fatal outcome of the disease. He returned to Venezuela on February 18th.

Maduro spoke after Jesse Jackson — the only foreigner who had the right to speak at the funeral — who praised the Chavez administration for having helped the poor.

The acting president welcomed the presence of the two US congressmen sent to represent the world’s most powerful country.

“Here are several representatives who we salute and appreciate: Jesse Jackson and also Congressman Bill Delahunt and Congressman Gregory Meeks, who we salute them for having been sent here by President Obama – welcome,” he said.

On Tuesday though, just hours before Chavez’s death, Maduro had accused the United States of having inoculated the Bolivarian leader with cancer.

At that time Maduro said: “We have no doubt that the historic enemies of our country sought some means to harm the health of our commander. In his historical moment, we have sufficient clues related to this issue. This is a very serious issue from the historical point of view, one that will have to be investigated by a special committee of scientists.”