Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez denounced on Saturday, January 3, the “unprecedented” military aggression by the United States against the national territory, perpetrated at 1:58 AM, which culminated in the illegal kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. Rodríguez affirmed that “there is only one president in this country and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros.”
Accompanied by high-ranking officials of the Bolivarian Government, the Vice President led an emergency meeting of the National Defense Council at Miraflores Palace in response to the military aggression against Venezuela. In this context, Rodríguez recalled that the Venezuelan executive branch had already warned about an ongoing aggression under “false excuses and pretexts,” emphasizing that “the masks have fallen.”
The vice president emphasized that the true objective of this operation is “regime change in Venezuela,” which would allow the United States “to seize our energy, mineral, and natural resources.” She called on the international community to be aware of this truth.
Representatives of the Venezuelan state’s public powers, the high military command, and other key authorities participated in the National Defense Council. From there, the vice president demanded the immediate release of President Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores, reaffirming the president as the “only president of Venezuela.”
Rodríguez reported that the Citizen Security Agency and “all of Venezuela’s national power” had been activated. This aims to reaffirm the defense of independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, which she described as “savagely attacked.” She also added that “the people of Venezuela have taken to the streets,” following a previous call by Maduro to activate the FANB (National Bolivarian Armed Forces) and the Bolivarian militias.
Rodríguez also announced the activation of a decree signed by President Maduro, which has been delivered to the President of the Supreme Court of Justice for its constitutional review in the Constitutional Chamber. This decree, issued due to a state of “external unrest,” is expected to receive judicial approval in the coming hours for its immediate implementation.
The Vice President highlighted the international support, mentioning that the community has “joined forces and raised its voices” from China, Russia, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. She stated that the world’s governments are shocked by this attack, which she attributed to a “Zionist slant,” calling it “truly shameful.”
Rodríguez quoted Simón Bolívar from the Jamaica Letter: “The veil has been torn, we have seen the light, and they want to return us to darkness. The chains have been broken, we have been free, and our enemies intend to enslave us again.” She emphasized that Venezuela “will never again be a colony of any empire.”
The vice president recalled the recent statements by President Maduro, who “just two days ago publicly, in a television interview,” reaffirmed the government’s willingness to “maintain dialogue to address a constructive agenda.”
She stated that the US aggression “flagrantly violates Articles 1 and 2 of the Charter of the United Nations,” despite Maduro’s having extended an olive branch to the American people to establish “diplomatic, political, and institutional channels of communication” based on the well-being of both nations, friendship, cooperation, and respect for international law.
Finally, the vice president called on the Venezuelan people to “remain calm” and to face the situation “together in perfect national unity.” She urged that the “police, military, and popular forces” become “a single body” to defend “our beloved Venezuela” in this “stage of defending our sovereignty and our national independence.”
IMAGE CREDIT: “We demand the immediate release of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. The only president of Venezuela is President Nicolás Maduro,” emphasized Delcy Rodríguez. Photo: With the Sledgehammer
[ SOURCE: teleSUR ]
