Venezuela demands end to US-imposed sanctions

BOGOTA, Colombia

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro delivered his address to the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations on Wednesday, where he called for the lifting of sanctions imposed by the US.

"We ratify our request, our demand that all criminal sanctions against the Venezuelan economy, against Venezuelan society by the United States and by the governments of the European Union be lifted," Maduro said in a pre-recorded address to the UN General Assembly in New York.

Maduro pointed out that sanctions have prevented financial transactions by Venezuela's state-run oil company and have made it harder for his government to finance imports of basic goods. He also seized the opportunity to demand the release of gold reserves belonging to the Venezuelan Central Bank which are stored at the Bank of England.

His request comes as his government holds negotiations with representatives of Venezuela’s opposition in Mexico in an attempt to have sanctions lifted. The talks follow the signing of a document between the two sides to reach a series of agreements leading to the holding of elections.

In his speech, the president also called for a new world free from “colonialism" and "hegemonic empires.”

“A new world that emerges from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and from the native peoples of the United States of America. A new world that is reborn to end the old hegemonies, to put an end to the pretense of some to become policemen and judges of all the peoples of the world,” he said. “It must be liberated from any hegemonies or any empires’ attempts at economic, financial, military or political domination; liberated from those who over centuries plundered, dominated, exploited and oppressed people throughout the world with their old rapacious colonialism,” he added.