Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez demanded Saturday the “immediate release” of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who have been captured in a single day throughout a US army operation.
Rodríguez made the demand hours after the seize of Maduro and Flores, carried out throughout a US operation in Caracas and different elements of the South American nation. Washington has justified the motion by arguing that the couple and different Venezuelan public figures are chargeable for narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and different crimes – expenses that Caracas rejects.
“We demand the immediate release of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, Rodríguez said Saturday afternoon during a session of the National Defense Council that was broadcast by state television network VTV. She called Maduro “the sole president of Venezuela.”
Alongside different senior officers, Rodríguez described the seize of Maduro and Flores as a “kidnapping,” stated that violations of worldwide legislation have been dedicated and accused US forces of getting “savagely attacked” Venezuela’s territorial integrity.
The vp added that the Venezuelan authorities will problem a decree declaring a “state of external emergency,” which it should undergo the nation’s Supreme Court for validation. She known as on the general public to arrange to “defend” the nation, with out offering particulars.
“We are calling for the defense of life. Not a single Venezuelan man or woman should remain on the sidelines, because the extremists who have provoked this armed aggression against our country will be made to pay by history and justice,” Rodríguez stated. She urged different Latin American governments to assist Venezuela.
“We call on the peoples of our greater homeland to remain united, because what was done to Venezuela can be done to anyone. That brutal use of force to bend the will of people can be done to any country,” she stated.
Rodríguez’s remarks contrasted with these made shortly earlier than by US President Donald Trump, who stated at a press convention in Florida that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken with the vp and that she, based on Trump, had expressed willingness to cooperate in a brand new section for the nation.
“There is a vice president who was appointed by Maduro; at this moment she is the vice president. I imagine that the president has just assumed power. She had a conversation with Marco. She said, ‘We’ll do whatever you need.’ I think she was quite courteous. We’re going to do this right,” Trump stated.
NCS has contacted the US State Department and is looking for to contact Venezuela’s vice presidency for touch upon the conflicting statements.