Antigua and Barbuda Foreign Minister responds to recent statements by Puerto Rican politician

“Cease maligning Antigua and Barbuda to advertise your egocentric political pursuits.” That’s the message from E. P. “Chet” Greene, the Overseas Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, to former Puerto Rican legislator, José Aponte Hernández.

The Minister said, “In a current outburst, José Aponte Hernández launched unfounded and false allegations in opposition to the sovereign nation of Antigua and Barbuda, claiming that our infrastructure developments are a part of a navy technique by China, significantly alleging that our airport is used for the touchdown and take-off of Communist Chinese language bombers.”

“His assertion shouldn’t be solely baseless, nevertheless it additionally seems crafted to advertise his long-held and unsuccessful want to annex Puerto Rico to the US as a state.”

“Antigua and Barbuda is a world-renowned tourism vacation spot. Our airport and seaport welcome most of the world’s main airways and cruise ships, bearing a whole bunch of hundreds of US residents yearly, together with officers of the US Embassy. Not one among these entities or people has ever corroborated Mr. Aponte’s outrageous and extremely malicious claims.”

“These assertions by Mr. Aponte are grounded in a sensationalist article written by a identified ardent anti-China advocate within the publication Newsweek. Aponte demonstrated a profound disregard for the reality by not looking for to determine the details earlier than uttering his falsehoods in opposition to a neighbouring nation, thereby calling into query his credibility as a accountable chief in Puerto Rico.”

“I doubt that Mr. Aponte can be first rate sufficient to apologize however, because the Overseas Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, I’m compelled to demand that he stop utilizing unfounded and libelous statements in opposition to our sovereign nation. We urge him to deal with constructive and truthful discourse, slightly than propagating falsehoods that serve no objective aside from to advertise his political ambitions on the expense of the folks of Antigua and Barbuda.”

“Our nation stays dedicated to stability and prosperity within the area, fostering relationships based mostly on respect and mutual profit. We stand sturdy in opposition to any efforts to undermine our nation by deceit and manipulation and can proceed to uphold our values of democracy and freedom.”