Jeremy Corbyn has hit back at an ally of Donald Trump who suggested his support for Venezuela was “disgusting”.
The Labour leader’s spokesman warned the United States not to interfere in the Latin American country after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo launched an outspoken attack on his backing for president Nicolas Maduro.
Asked about Corbyn’s previous support for Maduro, Pompeo told a news conference in London that “no leader from a country with Western democratic values ought to stand behind them.”
“It is disgusting to see leaders, not only in the United Kingdom but in the United States as well, who continue to support the murderous dictator Maduro,” Pompeo said.
Corbyn was a strong supporter of the left-wing government in Venezuela under late president Hugo Chavez and has expressed sympathy for his successor Maduro.
He and shadow chancellor John McDonnell have criticised “outside interference” in the socialist South American country, which has been in the grip of a social and economic crisis in recent months.
Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, who has called for sanctions against Maduro’s administration, added on Wednesday that it was time for Labour to end its support for the current regime.
“This is a country where three million people have fled the country, GDP has gone down by 40% in the last four years, people can’t access basic medicine, people are rifling through rubbish bags to get food in the streets,” Hunt said.
“John McDonnell describes this as ‘socialism in action’ and I think people need to draw their own conclusions about what his own plans might be for the UK.”
But a Labour spokesman hit back at Pompeo and Hunt, saying: “We oppose outside interference in Venezuela, whether from the US or anywhere else. The future of Venezuela is a matter for Venezuelans.”
In an apparent bid to distance himself from the current chaos, McDonnell said earlier this year that Venezuela took a “wrong turn” it took after Maduro took over from Chávez in 2013.
“It went wrong. I don’t think it is a socialist country,” he said.
Although the attack on Corbyn appeared co-ordinated, tensions were clear between the US and UK over the issues of terrorist fighters in Syria and of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei’s access to 5G networks.
The UK is considering giving the company limited access to its new generation mobile phone network, a prospect that sparked a leak for which former defence secretary Gavin Williamson was sacked by Theresa May.
But Pompeo threatened that America could be forced to pull some of its operations from Britain if it went ahead.
“With respect to 5G, we continue to have technical discussions. We are making our views very well known.
“The United States has an obligation to ensure that places where we operate, places where American information is, places where we have our national security risk, that they operate inside trusted networks. That’s what we’ll do.”
And in a speech after his press conference with Hunt, Pompeo launched a veiled attack on May’s Huawei decision, suggesting that Margaret Thatcher would have been tougher on the Chinese threat.
“Ask yourself this, would the Iron Lady be silent when China violates the sovereignty of nations? Would she allow China to control the internet of the future?”
Pompeo then underlined his warning that the UK’s close intelligence ties with Washington could be at risk.
“Insufficient security will impede the United States’ ability to share certain information with trusted networks,” he said.
“This is exactly what China wants. They want to divide Western alliances, through bits and bytes, not bullets and bombs.”
