Spain’s Sanchez says US wants to grab Venezuela resources, sets dangerous precedent

Jan 6 (Reuters) – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday the United States had set a “terrible and very dangerous precedent” in Venezuela with its raid to capture President Nicolas Maduro, adding that Washington’s sole objective appeared to be the change of government and appropriation of energy resources.

“Spain never recognised the Maduro government because it broke the rules, because his election was illegitimate, and precisely for that reason it cannot recognise the legitimacy of a military action that is clearly illegal, that violates international law and whose sole objective seems to be none other than to change the government of another country to seize its natural resources,” he told reporters in Paris.

Trump says Maduro masterminded the flow of drugs into the U.S. and was illegitimately in power due to vote-rigging. Maduro denies those claims and officials in Caracas have demanded his release.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Andrei KhalipEditing by David Goodman)