Venezuelan FM denounces persecution in Paraguay

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro complained on Wednesday of chasing for political reasons in Paraguay and contended that he was in Asuncion as another representative of a delegation of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur).

"It is a protracted story, the world upside down, precisely those who staged a coup d'état have started a whole political persecution against several sectors and institutions of the Paraguayan society," Maduro told state-run VTV, Efe recited.

The minister referred as well to the testimony of Paraguayan military officers at the Attorney General Office on his alleged meeting during his stay in Asunción right after the overthrow of President Fernando Lugo in a political trial.

"The facts that led to the illegal ousting of President Lugo are open and public. We just accomplished a mission in the context of Unasur," Maduro reasoned.