Venezuela urges Obama to leave peacefully, revoke executive order

In a 2015 decree, the US declared the South American nation to be "an unusual and extraordinary threat" to its national security and foreign policy

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has urged his US counterpart Barack Obama to revoke an executive order that labelled his country a security threat.

"It is an atrocity that I hope Obama corrects before he leaves office," Maduro said on Sunday, reiterating his government's willingness to improve diplomatic ties with the US.

In a message directly addressing the US head of state, Maduro said, "In spite of the arrogance, aggression and negative legacy, you, President Barack Obama, can garner the admiration and respect of Venezuela, if you have the courage to sign a decree revoking that infamous executive order that claims our beloved country is a threat," Xinhua news agency reported.

 

The South American nation will also formally request the White House revoke the decree during an upcoming meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry, so Obama "can leave with a message of peace for Venezuela", said Maduro.

While ties between the two countries have been sour since Venezuela's socialist party first came to power some 15 years ago, the 2015 decree calling the South American country "an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the US", marked a particular low point.

A day after the US presidential election on November 8, Maduro spoke with Kerry to request the two countries establish a "positive agenda" with which to work when the administration of President-elect Donald Trump takes over in January 2017.