In response to Nicolas Maduro’s abduction by American military forces, Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, has claimed that “no foreign agent” is operating in Venezuela.
Rodriguez, who had previously served as Maduro’s vice president prior to his abduction, made the remarks at a televised event on Tuesday, one day after Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, entered pleas not guilty to conspiracy to traffic in New York.
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No one else is in charge in our nation but the Venezuelan government. No foreign agent is in charge of Venezuela, Rodriguez claimed.
Meanwhile, Maduro and his wife were requested by Venezuela’s prosecutor general for their immediate release.
Without a declaration of war or a resolution from the UN Security Council, the military operation is a deemed an unlawful act of armed terrorism, according to Tarek William Saab.
The statements come as a result of the military operation that left dozens of people dead in Venezuela on Saturday. The offensive has been widely dissented as a global law violation.
The 24 soldiers killed in the predawn assault were released on Tuesday in Venezuela. Cuba also announced the passing of 32 military personnel. In honor of the fallen military personnel, Rodriguez established a seven-day period of mourning.
US President Donald Trump’s administration hasn’t provided much information about its plans for Venezuela since seizing Maduro from his residence.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded to Trump’s statement on Saturday that the US would “run” Venezuela.
Instead, the top diplomat claimed that US officials would set the country’s “direction” and use sanctions and an ongoing embargo to impose more restrictions on Venezuela’s oil industry.
On Monday, Rubio, the US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the House Judiciary gave a group of Congress members a report on the Venezuela operation.
However, some lawmakers claimed that the administration had not disclosed its plans for Venezuela’s future or its justification for holding the strike without first obtaining congressional approval.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said afterwards, “This briefing, while very extensive and lengthy, posed far more questions than it ever answered.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican Party ally, said on Tuesday that Venezuela’s “government structure and how willing they are to work with the US” would be revealed over the coming days.
Rodriguez was described as a “practical person, pragmatic person” who “will understand the importance of figuring out a way forward so that Venezuela can prioritize its national security priorities.”
Trump, in addition lauding the abduction as an “amazing military feat” and “brilliant tactically,” provided few additional details about the operation during a retreat with Republicans on Tuesday.
Former Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said the nation had a “wonderful and incredible opportunity” while speaking from exile in Miami, Florida.
Guaido, who fled Venezuela in 2023, claimed that restoring the country’s democracy would lead to the return of millions of Venezuelans, as well as “bring back to life the oil fields” and “restore prosperity.
Rodriguez was described as a “acting dictator” and said the current era would only end “once the rule of law is reinstated”
Uncomfortable in Caracas
On Tuesday, crowds gathered in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, for a state-organized demonstration of government support.
Some marchers flashed “V” victory signs. Diosdado Cabello, the US Department of Justice indictment, was seen wading through the crowd. He is the country’s traditional minister of interior. The phrase “to doubt is to betray” was emblazoned on a blue cap on him.
However, Venezuelan journalist Noris Argotte Soto claimed that most people in Caracas remain tense and that most people remain inside their homes.
Everyone stays at home in the city’s “peripheral areas.” People are irate, the tension is rising. And people are extremely reluctant to leave the city and enter it, she said, primarily because of the security forces present at the city’s main squares.
Soto added that paramilitaries affiliated with the government have recently been working with the military to protect national security and avert potential dissention.
She claimed that they collaborated with the security forces yesterday.
They essentially targeted people, intimidated them, ran their cars, and even demanded that they use their cell phones to check their messages and social media accounts.
Regional uncertainty
The Trump administration’s increased threats to Colombia and the island of Greenland in the northern Atlantic have also caused anxiety in the region.
Trump said in response to the attack on Saturday that he had not considered starting an attack on Colombia because he had allegedly failed to tamp down the illegal drug trade.
He called Gustavo Petro, the nation’s president, a “sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States,” a vocal critic of US operations in Venezuela.
Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio, Colombia’s foreign affairs minister, announced on Tuesday that she would meet with the Colombian consular office in Bogota to file a formal complaint about the recent “threats” emanating from the US.
Villavicencio expressed her hope that the Trump administration will be informed of “all that we are doing in the fight against drug trafficking.”
Vivian Motzfeldt, the country’s foreign minister, posted a request on social media for an urgent meeting with Rubio on Tuesday to “discus the significant statement made by the United States.”
Trump once more floated a plan to retake control of Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory.
Later, Stephen Miller, a Trump aide, asserted that if it believes such actions are in line with its national interest, Washington has the right to seize sovereign territories.
The statement was consistent with a December White House national security strategy that stated the goal of restoring the United States’ “preeminence” in the Western Hemisphere.
The White House once more stated on Tuesday that it was looking into options for capturing Greenland, adding that “using the US military is always an option.”
Numerous European nations, as well as Canada, have reacted in support of Greenland, noting that Denmark is a NATO member. Therefore, an island attack would be considered an island attack on the entire bloc.
The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom joined with Denmark on Tuesday to release a joint statement denouncing Trump’s remarks.
Source: Aljazeera
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