Maduro responds to Trump’s threats
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused the United States of seeking to overthrow his government and turn Venezuela into a colony, rejecting Washington’s recent threats and oil blockade as a “diplomacy of barbarism.”
Speaking in a televised address on Wednesday, Maduro said the US was attempting to impose a “puppet government” in Caracas that “would not last even 47 hours.” He described the pressure campaign launched by US President Donald Trump as “warmongering” and aimed at seizing Venezuela’s constitution, sovereignty, and natural wealth, RT reported.
“They want regime change in Venezuela to impose a puppet government that would hand over the constitution, sovereignty, and all our riches and turn the country into a colony,” Maduro said. “That is not going to happen – never.”
Maduro’s remarks followed Trump’s announcement of a blockade on “sanctioned” oil tankers carrying Venezuelan crude. Trump has branded the government in Caracas a “foreign terrorist organization” and accused it of “stealing” US oil and other assets.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America. It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before – until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the oil, land, and other assets that they previously stole from us,” Trump stated on Tuesday.
The Venezuelan leader insisted that the country’s oil trade and exports would continue, arguing that international law and the UN Charter protect freedom of navigation and commerce. “This is not the time for corsairs or piracy,” Maduro said.
MA/PR
