(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The Venezuelan government has sharply condemned the suggestion by US senator Marco Rubio that 'the world would support an armed coup to remove President Nicolas Maduro, whom the American lawmaker denounced as a 'dictator.
The Venezuelan armed forces are 'committed to the constitution and will defend the presidential elections set for April 22, said Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza.
Arreaza suggested that Washington wanted to replace Maduro with a right-wing dictator like those who ruled regional countries with an iron fist in years past, someone like Augusto Pinochet of Chile.
'But these are different times, Arreaza, who recently toured Caribbean countries, told the Telesur network.
Rubio had tweeted that 'the world would support the Armed Forces in #Venezuela if they decide to protect the people & restore democracy by removing a dictator.
He added that 'soldiers eat out of garbage cans & their families go hungry in #Venezuela while Maduro & friends live like kings & block humanitarian aid.
And he quoted the country's national hero, the 'Liberator Simon Bolivar, as saying, 'When tyranny becomes law, rebellion is a right.
Rubio, who is of Cuban descent, chairs a senate subcommittee dealing with democracy and human rights in the Western Hemisphere.
US President Donald Trump said last year he would not 'rule out a military option in Venezuela amid the deepening unrest there. Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino called Trump's remark an 'act of craziness.
Maduro is seeking re-election to a second six-year term.
With the opposition coalition barred from fielding a candidate and several top Maduro critics banned, opponents of the deeply unpopular leftist president accuse him of rigging the April vote.
Presidential elections were not due until December. But the Constituent Assembly, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists, moved the date forward.
The country is suffering dire food and medicine shortages brought on by low oil prices and economic mismanagement.
It is teetering on the brink of default and is increasingly isolated internationally.
Meanwhile, Colombia has contacted international lending agencies about devising a financial rescue plan worth up to $60bn for Venezuela if President Nicholas Maduro leaves power, Colombia's finance minister said.
Hyperinflation and severe recession in oil-rich Venezuela are prompting Venezuelans to flee over the border to Colombia, now about 2,000 a day, Colombian Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas said.
Officials the International Monetary Fund, Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank are just beginning to understand the impact of the exodus, he said.
'What happens when Maduro falls? We should not improvise. There should be a plan because Venezuela will require financial support, Cardenas said. He estimated Venezuela would need about $60bn in loans under a new government and economic policies.
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