Maduro with “Unwavering Faith in Victory” in the Face of the US “Onslaught”

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro asserted that his country will remain “standing” and with “unwavering faith in victory” in the face of what he described as an “attack” by the United States, which is carrying out a military deployment in the Caribbean Sea to, according to Washington, combat drug trafficking.  This land belongs to the Venezuelan people, and no traitor or empire will be able to touch and desecrate this sacred soil.  “Today, imperialism launches a new attack. It’s not the first, nor the last, just another attack. And Venezuela is standing. And I tell you that Venezuela will continue to stand, with serenity, with firmness, with unshakeable faith in victory and peace,” Maduro said. 

At the inauguration of a monument in Caracas for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in the Pacific, an event broadcast by the state-run Venezuelan Television (VTV) channel, the Chavista leader also assured that the South American country will continue “in the national unity of all its people,” as well as “all its forces”—military and police.  “We are good people, we are people who love peace, but let them know that we are fierce warriors when they interfere with our land, our history, and our rights. This land belongs to the Venezuelan people, and no traitor or empire will be able to touch and desecrate the sacred soil bequeathed to us by the liberators,” he added. 

The president, whom the US does not recognize as the legitimate president, rejects the Trump administration’s argument about fighting drug trafficking and asserts that the US wants Venezuela’s natural resources, which he mentions as oil, gas, and gold.  Maduro also made no reference during the event in Caracas to the announced attack by U.S. military forces against a boat allegedly carrying drugs, which, according to Washington, contained eleven people whom it accuses of being alleged members of the Venezuelan-based transnational criminal gang Tren de Aragua, an organization designated as a terrorist organization by the Trump administration.  The US president asserted this Wednesday that Venezuela has created a “tremendous problem” for his country in relation to drug trafficking and illegal immigration, adding: “We will not tolerate it any longer.”