Socialist dictator of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro on Wednesday sang a modified version of Bobby McFerrin’s iconic song, Don’t Worry, Be Happy as a “message” to American citizens amid growing tensions between both countries.
Maduro, wearing a Venezuelan straw hat, delivered his latest “artistic performance” during a regime event commemorating the 166th anniversary of the Battle of Santa Inés, a pivotal battle in Venezuela’s mid-19th Century Federal War.
“To American citizens who are against the war, I respond with a very famous song,” Maduro prefaced in Spanish before singing “Don’t worry, be happy” in English.
“Yes peace, not war,” Maduro continued, referencing one of his recent “English” messages, which have now become the subject of several parody remixes.
“Peace and love,” Maduro exclaimed while making peace signs with his two hands as the original song played on stage. “Not war. No, no, no crazy war. No, be happy.”
Footage shared across social media shows the Venezuelan dictator dancing on stage as the original song played.
Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, is seen accompanying Maduro.
The dictator’s Wednesday “performance,” marks the latest in a now-recurring series of strange and confusing messages to the U.S. delivered by Maduro, who claims that the United States is allegedly seeking to stage an “invasion” of Venezuela to oust him from power and “steal” Venezuela’s oil and other resources.
Last week, Maduro, during his weekly Thursdays podcast, starred a “comedy sketch” involving an old rotary phone — apparently referencing his recent call with President Trump. Before singing Don’t worry, be happy on Wednesday, Maduro sang John Lennon’s Imagine in mid-November.
Despite his calls for “peace,” the dictator availed himself of the opportunity to call upon Venezuelans to be ready “like warriors” and ready to “knock out the teeth of the American empire, if necessary.”
Maduro stands accused by U.S. courts of being a leading figure, if not the leader of, the Cartel of the Suns, an international cocaine trafficking organization run by top Venezuelan regime and military officials. The Cartel is long accused of attempting to “flood” the United States with cocaine to harm its people.
The United States has an active $50 million bounty on information leading to Maduro’s arrest and/or conviction.
President Trump announced on Wednesday evening that the United States seized a Cuba-bound oil tanker as it sailed off the coast of Venezuela. The tanker, identified as “Skipper,” reportedly carried a “false flag of nationality” and is linked to illicit Iranian oil smuggling.
According to the BBC, it is unclear if Maduro knew about the seizure of the tanker before the rally.
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