CARACAS, February 8. /TASS/. Possible US aggression against Caracas cannot be justified, Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro told reporters on Friday.
"The United States has no excuse for its possible aggression against Venezuela," Maduro said. "We have recently revealed a conspiracy to stage a coup, funded and supported from Colombia," he noted. "We were able to maintain peace in the country, a civil-military alliance," he added.
"The scheme for Venezuela is more or less similar to what they did to Libya in order to seize its natural resources," Maduro noted.
According to the Venezuelan president, Western countries are trying "to install a ‘new Pinochet’ in Venezuela." "If only potatoes or bananas were grown in Venezuela, nothing like that could ever happen, but we have lots of natural resources," he said.
"Venezuela’s government is functioning. The government and justice [bodies] are doing 100% of work," Maduro continued. "Venezuela is run by elected President Nicolas Maduro," he emphasized.
The president vowed that "peace will come" to the country next week, and that he will keep exercising power. "We will be moving on," he promised.
"The document adopted by the National Assembly - on 'transitioning to democracy' - represents a coup attempt and violation of the constitution," Maduro said. "The document states that new presidential election should be held in the next 12 months," he added.
"At the same time, what they did with humanitarian aid is a cheap spectacle. This is humiliating for Venezuela," he noted.
"Others are trying to destroy the country's independence and sovereignty under the pretext of humanitarian aid delivery. They are trying to destabilize our country, but their enterprise was not successful," Maduro said.
The Venezuelan president called on the opposition to stop ruining the country. "Those opposing the government are on the wrong side of history," he noted.
VIVOplay TV channel reported on Thursday that first containers with humanitarian aid have arrived to the Colombian city of Cucuta at the Venezuelan border.
Politicas crisis in Venezuela
On January 23, the leader of Venezuela’s opposition Juan Guaido, whose appointment as parliamentary speaker had been annulled by the Supreme Court two days before that, declared himself as interim president. On the same day, the United States recognized him as acting head of state. So did the Lima Group countries (excluding Mexico), the Organization of American States, and a number of other countries. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro slammed this as an attempted coup and severed diplomatic ties with the US.
Some European countries gave an ultimatum to Maduro, urging him to call an early presidential election within eight days. After the deadline had expired, they recognized Guaido as interim president.
Russia, Belarus, Bolivia, Iran, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Syria and Turkey stood up for Maduro’s support. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.