"No crying, citizen Ramirez ... You have been pointed out by all, including by national public opinion, as one of the main embezzlers and culprits of the ... breakdown of PDVSA," Saab said.Ramirez's whereabouts have been unknown since he fled the United States in December, a month after he was ordered to resign as Venezuela's ambassador to the United Nations over an article he wrote that was seen as an attack on Maduro's government.Ramirez denied the corruption allegations. "I'm going to keep saying what I think. They're going to burn me like in the Inquisition. But I'm going to continue," Ramirez told Reuters in a text message.On Twitter, Ramirez said he was being singled out for putting himself forward for the ruling Socialist Party primaries ahead of a presidential election set to take place before April, in which Maduro is the leading candidate. "They want to impose a candidate through fear and force, silencing and criminalizing criticism.

Source: Egypt Today January 25, 2018 20:15 UTC