Venezuela's government on Thursday rejected the findings of a report on global terrorism in 2017 which was released by the U.S. State Department this week.
In a statement posted on its website, the Foreign Affairs Ministry questioned the validity of the report issued by what it called a "leading proponent of terrorism."
"Venezuela does not recognize such a unilateral and arbitrary practice that pretends to evaluate and grade other countries, more so when the purported assessor is nothing less than the world's leading proponent of terrorism," the statement said.
U.S. threats of military intervention against Venezuela, along with economic and financial sanctions, "constitute undeniable ways of inflicting terror and inflicting suffering on peaceful societies," the government said.
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has piled sanctions on the South American country, one of the few in Latin America that have not aligned themselves with Washington.
The ministry accused the United States of backing violent anti-government factions in Venezuela, including helping to plan and finance a failed assassination attempt against President Nicolas Maduro.
Venezuela will continue to fight international terrorism "with more firmness and conviction until it is completely eradicated," the government said.
The U.S. State Department's annual report on global terrorism, published on Wednesday, alleges Venezuela does not cooperate "fully with U.S. counterterrorism efforts" and makes other charges.
