By Roy Mabasa Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Sunday nixed the idea of the Philippines expressing its position on the current political crisis gripping Venezuela, citing the principle of the “Monroe Doctrine” as the reason. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.
(PRESIDENTIAL PHOTOS / MANILA BULLETIN) “We will never, never, NEVAH interfere with the Monroe Doctrine and any f

r who tries will hear the whistle of a missile before he understands profoundly what it means as the last conscious experience of his idiotic life,” Locsin said in a tweet. In a separate tweet, Locsin said the Monroe Doctrine was prepared for the greatest benefit of the US neighbor – the Latin America – and even suggested that anyone who interferes may face the might and power of the United States. “The Monroe Doctrine was drawn up for the greatest benefit of Latin America. A treaty is just, a German minister said, “a piece of paper.” But Monroe is made up of metal, explosive material and rocket fuel. Wait for the whistle of the missile,” the foreign affairs secretary said. Venezuela's political standoff began last month after President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in for a second term following an election that was widely boycotted by the opposition. Rival candidate Juan Guaidó, the head of the National Assembly, declared himself interim president with the backing of the US and several other Latin American countries. On the other hand, Russia, China, Iran and Turkey have expressed support for President Maduro. The Monroe Doctrine is a major foreign policy statement delivered by former United States President James Monroe during his annual address in 1823, specifically telling the crowned heads of Europe to stay off the Americas and stop interfering in its affairs. The doctrine became a key facet of American foreign policy throughout the 19th century and into the 20th century and played a major role in the foreign policies of several US presidents thereafter. In 1898, then US President William McKinley used the doctrine to justify the Spanish American War. Theodore Roosevelt used it to build the Panama Canal in the early part of the 1900s. John F. Kennedy cited it when he blocked Soviet ships from Cuba.