Macron condemns Maduro’s ‘dictatorship’

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of creating a "dictatorship" on Tuesday in one of the harshest condemnations yet of the South American regime by a European leader.

Maduro has overseen the creation of a new loyalist national assembly, a major clampdown on the independent media and the sacking of the country’s top justice official. Clashes during protests against his rule claimed 125 lives this year, according to prosecutors.

"A dictatorship is trying to survive at an unprecedented humanitarian cost, even though the resources of the country remain significant," Macron said of Maduro’s government in his first major foreign policy speech on Monday.

The 28-member European Union has so far backed away from adopting any sanctions on the Venezuelan government, but it does not recognise the new national assembly as legitimate and has warned it might take action.

US President Donald Trump has condemned the Maduro "dictatorship" and even threatened a "military option". Last week, he imposed fresh sanctions aimed at choking off the country’s access to American financial markets. Oil-rich Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven reserves of crude, has blamed the US government for its economic woes which have resulted in shortages of food and medicine.