“Acting President” of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez on Tuesday night said the country is calm a month after U.S. forces captured socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro.
“The country is calm, the country is peaceful, but there is a national outcry calling for the release of President Maduro and the first combatant, Congresswoman Cilia Flores,” Rodríguez said ruing a broadcast from VTV, the Venezuelan regime’s flagship propaganda television channel.
Rodríguez issued her remarks on the occasion of the first month anniversary of the January 3 U.S. law enforcement operation in Caracas that resulted in the arrest of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. She spoke alongside her brother Jorge, who leads the National Assembly, and Interior Minister — and long suspected drug lord — Diosdado Cabello, who leads the regime’s brutally repressive apparatus.
The “acting President,” referring to the January 3 operation, claimed that “exactly one month ago, at around 02:00 a.m., the Venezuelan people suffered an external armed military attack by a nuclear power,” but asserted that over the past months, Venezuela has “transmuted and matured in the face of the impact of aggression by the United States, transforming it into tranquility and caring for peace now more than ever.”
“If there is one thing that has united Venezuelans, it is their rejection of this type of aggression. If there is one thing that has united Venezuelans, because we know it and it is what the Venezuelan people say, it is that differences, controversies, and disagreements with the United States government must be resolved diplomatically through political dialogue, through bilateral diplomatic dialogue,” she continued at another part of her speech.
Rodríguez highlighted that she has had telephone conversations with President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in recent days and that “respect, respect for international law, interpersonal respect,” must be the way forward, acknowledging the historic links between the U.S. and Venezuela since both countries started diplomatic relations.
At press time, the United States and Venezuela are conducting a process towards reopening the U.S. embassy in Caracas, which remains shut down since 2019 after Nicolás Maduro had Venezuela cut ties with America. This week, Rodríguez and her brother met with U.S. Ambassador Laura Dogu, who leads the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU).
Dogu detailed on social media that she detailed Sec. Rubio’s three-phase roadmap towards restoring democracy in Venezuela to the Rodríguez siblings during their meeting.
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“As Secretary Rubio said, we want a friendly, stable, prosperous, and democratic Venezuela. To achieve this, my team and I will work hand in hand with Venezuelans, representatives from a variety of sectors and perspectives,” Dogu said on a video published on Tuesday.
“We will execute a three-phase plan. First, the stabilization of the country and the restoration of security. Second, the recovery of the economy for the benefit of all Venezuelans. And third, the transition to a friendly, stable, prosperous, and democratic Venezuela,” she continued.
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