Jorge Valero

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Jorge Valero Briceño (born November 8, 1946) is the current Venezuelan Deputy Foreign Minister for North America and Multilateral Affairs, and the Permanent Representative for Venezuela to the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS). He was born in Valera, Trujillo.

[edit] Early career

A graduate of the University of the Andes with a degree in history, Valero received his Masters Degree in Latin American studies from the University of London. He has also taught in undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the University of the Andes and the Central University of Venezuela. He was the President of the Latin American Parliament’s Social Debt Commission (Comisión de la Deuda Social del Parlamento Latinoamericano).[1] As a longtime politician, Valero has authored numerous opinion pieces,[2] but as an academic, has also written several academic papers and books on history.

[edit] Political office

Valero has previously served as a Deputy in the Venezuelan National Congress. A strong backer of the Hugo Chavez regime, Valero went on to serve several posts in the current government. He also appointed Ambassador to the Republic of Korea. In 1999, Valero was Venezuela's Representative on the Governing Board of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID)[3], and in 2000 he was the President of the Presidential Preparatory Commission for the OPEC Summit hosted in Caracas that year. Valero currently serves as Deputy Foreign Minister for North America and Multilateral Affairs and also as the Permanent Representative for Venezuela to the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS). In November of 2003, the New York Times reported that Valero, an advocate of the Chavez administration, had a falling out with his brother, Hidalgo Valero, who is a vocal opposition activist against Chavez, and the two were no longer speaking.[4] As one of the most prominent spokesmen for the Chavez government to the international community, Valero often makes headlines for his stridently antagonistic comments about the United States and its allies, for example by commonly referring to the United States as an "empire," recently accusing the United States of human rights abuses and genocide for its embargo of Cuba,[5] and also during the 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis accused the government of Colombia of state terrorism and genocide for its long armed conflict with the FARC rebels.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Valero's CV from the OAS website
  2. ^ Bibliography of opinion pieces from Valero's OAS website
  3. ^ 1999 OFID Annual Report
  4. ^ Juan Forero. "Debate Over Chávez Divides Venezuelan Families and Friends", New York Times, November 28, 2003. 
    One highly visible and relentless opponent of Mr. Chávez's, Hidalgo Valero, a lawyer who has filed complaints against the government with the United Nations and the Organization of American States, said that he simply could not talk to his brother about politics anymore.[...]"I tell him, in the future you'll have to deal with the fact that you supported the policies of a bunch of killers," said Hidalgo Valero, who like other opposition leaders makes the kind of loaded charges that leave Mr. Chávez's backers steamed. "To avoid conflict, I don't have any interest in meeting with him."
  5. ^ "Venezuela califica de criminal y genocida el bloqueo de EEUU contra Cuba", Agencia Boliviariana de Noticias, 10/30/2007. (Spanish) 
    “Venezuela exige al Gobierno de Estados Unidos ponga fin al cruel y punitivo bloqueo contra Cuba. Los derechos humanos del pueblo cubano son vulnerados en forma masiva, flagrante y reiterada, con esa acción genocida."
  6. ^ "Valero califica ataque a las FARC como "acto genocida"", Union Radio, March 4, 2008. (Spanish) 
    "No podemos permitir que en nombre de una supuesta lucha contra el terrorismo se practique el terrorismo de Estado y el genocidio, no podemos permitir bajo ninguna circunstancia se viole la soberanía de ninguno de los países del continente, que se transgreda el derecho internacional y los derechos humanos", dijo Valero durante su intervención ante los representantes del resto de los países del hemisferio.