Labour Friends of Venezuela, a group backed by Labour MPs Diane Abbott and Grahame Morris, has today come out in support of the country’s violent President Nicolas Maduro. Despite the arrest of Venezuela’s opposition leader, the killing of protesters and expulsion of foreign journalists, the group’s loony chair and former Labour MP Colin Burgon spins:

“This ongoing majority support for Venezuela’s progressive, elected government that has driven this current wave of anti-democratic, right-wing violence in the country. This has been initiated by an element of Venezuela’s right-wing opposition that has grown frustrated with its own repeated electoral failings.

The current violence from elements of the right-wing stems from the announcement in January of a strategy of opposition protest leaders for the La Salida (The Ousting) of the government of President Maduro before his constitutional mandate ends in 2019… In contrast, the government has repeatedly condemned all violence and called for peace and talks with the opposition.”

An analysis completely rejected by numerous human rights organisations in the past few weeks. That “progressive” socialist government which he says has “condemned all violence” is in truth killing protesters in the street. Does Labour support the position of this vile affiliated group?