Venezuelan President meets with Chinese ambassador amid US pressure.

The acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, met this Thursday with the ambassador of its ally China, Lan Hu, to thank the Asian giant’s condemnation of the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, by US troops, a country that has redoubled pressure on Caracas.

Rodríguez shared images of the meeting with Hu on his Telegram channel and highlighted China’s “firm and consistent position in strongly condemning the serious violation of international law and Venezuelan sovereignty.”

“We held a cordial meeting with the ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in Venezuela, Lan Hu, to whom we conveyed our sincere gratitude for his condemnation of the kidnapping of Pres. Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, as well as the aggressions against Venezuela,” Rodríguez indicated.

Earlier, Venezuelan Chancellor Yván Gil also expressed “his deepest gratitude” to China which, in his opinion, rejected “the politicization and instrumentalization of human rights as a pretext to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.”

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China’s Rejection of International Sanctions

China on Thursday denounced the seizure by the United States of an oil tanker sailing under the Russian flag in international waters and maintained that the “arbitrary seizure” of ships from other countries on the high seas “seriously contravenes international law” and violates the basic principles of the United Nations Charter. Beijing also reiterated its rejection of sanctions “that have no basis in international law” and that do not have the authorization of the UN Security Council. The statements were made after the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted the tanker Marinera, formerly known as Bella 1, in the North Atlantic, linked to the transport of Venezuelan crude oil and which, according to Washington, had incurred violations of the sanctions regime imposed by the United States. Rodríguez, who until recently served as vice president, was sworn in on Monday as acting president of the country, after the capture of Maduro and his wife during the US attacks in Caracas and three other states neighboring this capital.

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According to US officials cited by the ABC network, the administration of President Donald Trump has informed Rodríguez that the country must comply with ending relations with China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba as part of a series of demands before extracting and commercializing its oil.