SANTIAGO – President Michelle Bachelet has told United States Vice President Mike Pence that Chile will not support coups d’etat or military interventions, but will agree to sanctions that should be adopted by the United Nations Security Council.
Pence met with Ms. Bachelet Wednesday as part of his tour of Latin America, which seeks to strengthen support for joint action against Venezuela.
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“I want to be very clear. Chile will do its utmost to support the Venezuelans in finding a peaceful way,” Bachelet said during a joint press conference at La Moneda Palace.
On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he wouldn’t rule out a “military option” against Venezuela, an idea that was rejected by Chile’s Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz.
Meanwhile, the National Coordinator of Organizations of Human and Social Rights announced it will hold a protest in rejection of the presence of Pence in Chile.
The Chilean Committee of Solidarity with the Bolivarian People of Venezuela said it will burn a U.S. flag near the government palace while Pence is meeting with Bachelet.
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The U.S. State Department said they asked the Chilean Foreign Ministry to include the topic of North Korea in the agenda to be discussed between Pence and Bachelet.
Pence will also recognize Chile “as a leader and a model of open economy and for its solid and stable democracy,” according to Cooperativa.
The U.S. leader and his wife arrived around noon to the capital of Santiago where they were met by Muñoz and traveled to La Moneda Palace, where he met with Bachelet to address issues of commercial and geopolitical interest.
The U.S. vice president began his trip in the region in Colombia, where he met with President Juan Manuel Santos, then visited Argentina and President Mauricio Macri.
The trip will end with a final stop in Panama to meet President Juan Carlos Varela, where organizations have also called for protests against the visit.
