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Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro warned that his country must “stand like warriors … ready to crush the teeth of the North American empire” on Wednesday, a moment that coincided with the seizure by the United States of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
Maduro made the remarks while holding Simón Bolívar’s sword at a rally where video showed him singing and dancing to a recording of American singer Bobby McFerrin’s late 80s hit, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Maduro told supporters that Venezuelans should remain vigilant as tensions with Washington rise.
“In these times, things have to be different, but we must always stand as warriors, women and men,” he said in a translated interpretation. “With one eye wide open – and the other too – working, producing, building, keeping everything running, and ready to knock the teeth of the North American empire if necessary, from the homeland of Bolivar.”
President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the United States had seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, sharply raising tensions with Caracas. The tanker was seized for transporting oil sanctioned by Venezuela and Iran, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
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Maduro issued a stark warning after the United States seized a tanker near Venezuela, sparking accusations of piracy and escalating a rapidly escalating standoff. (Reuters and APTN)
The Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the move in an official statement, calling it “a blatant theft and an act of international piracy” and accusing Trump of openly pursuing a plan to “take Venezuelan oil without paying anything in return.”
The ministry said the action was part of what it described as a long-term effort by the United States to loot the country’s natural resources and compared the episode to the loss of Citgo Petroleum Corp., which Caracas says was seized through “fraudulent judicial mechanisms.”
The statement argued that “the real reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela” have nothing to do with migration, drug trafficking, democracy, or human rights, insisting “it has always been about our natural resources, our oil, our energy.”
Maduro issued a stark warning after the United States seized a tanker near Venezuela, sparking accusations of piracy and escalating a rapidly escalating standoff. (Reuters and APTN)
He also accused Washington of using the tanker incident to distract from what he described as the failure of political efforts in Oslo by groups seeking Maduro’s removal.
Caracas urged Venezuelans to “remain firm in the defense of the homeland” and called on the international community to reject what it described as “vandalistic, illegal and unprecedented aggression”.
The government said it would take its complaint to all available international bodies and promised to protect the country’s sovereignty and control over its energy assets, declaring that “Venezuela will not allow any foreign power to try to seize from the Venezuelan people what belongs to them by historical and constitutional right.”
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Maduro issued the warning after the United States seized a tanker near Venezuela, sparking accusations of piracy and escalating a rapidly escalating standoff. (Reuters and APTN)
Tensions between the two countries have risen after months of US naval attacks that Washington says targeted ships used by drug traffickers for transporting narcotics.
Reuters reported that more than 80 people have been killed since September, and a separate Reuters report details increased security surveillance and repression in coastal communities affected by the strikes.
Late last month, Maduro appeared at a mass rally in Caracas holding the sword of Simón Bolívar as he warned supporters to prepare for “imperialist aggression,” delivering a defiant address after Trump said the United States would “very soon” begin arresting suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers on the ground.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about the capture of an American oil tanker by the United States off the coast of Venezuela. (Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters)
Trump said he had not ruled out sending US troops to Venezuela as part of the administration’s crackdown on criminal networks linked to senior figures in Caracas.
“No, I haven’t ruled that out. I haven’t ruled out anything,” he said.
He also left room for potential discussions.
“We can have some conversations with Maduro, and we’ll see how that goes. They would like to talk,” Trump told reporters over the weekend.
Since the beginning of September, the United States strikes across the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific destroyed dozens of ships. US officials say many were linked to Venezuelan and Colombian criminal groups.
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Maduro appeared at last month’s rally holding the sword of Simón Bolívar, the 19th-century independence leader regarded as the liberator of much of South America. He told supporters that the country was facing a decisive moment.
Fox News’ Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.
