In an unusual departure from his presidential office in Miraflores, Nicolás Maduro walked through the streets on Friday to participate in a Chavista rally, where he told CNN that Venezuela and the United States should unite for the peace of the continent, while also calling for peace from President Donald Trump amid growing tensions over the US military deployment in the Caribbean Sea.
By ABC
A few hours earlier, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had announced Operation Southern Spear via social media: “We are going to expel the narco-terrorists from the Western Hemisphere. This mission defends our homeland, expels the narco-terrorists from our hemisphere, and protects our homeland from the drugs that are killing our people. The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood, and we will protect it,” Hegseth wrote.
The pro-Maduro rally was prepared in advance next to the Government Palace in downtown Caracas, with a platform alluding to the rejection of the US naval air fleet and the military preparations organized by the Chavista regime to face a possible attack by the marines.
Maduro appeared very relaxed when approached by CNN at the march. “No more endless wars, no more unjust wars, no more Libya, no more Afghanistan, long live peace!” he declared. And when asked if he had a message for Trump, he said: “My message is: ‘Yes, peace! Yes, peace!’” He then urged his supporters to resist what he considered a threat of invasion by the U.S., although his expression showed no signs of concern. This Tuesday, he signed a decree to create the Comprehensive Defense Commands and announced the mobilization of 200,000 uniformed personnel comprised of members of the Army, Bolivarian militia, public employees, and civilian supporters. “We are busy with the people, governing with peace,” he added to the American network.
The president appears not nervous in front of the cameras, but rather energetic and euphoric, leading a war campaign against what he calls the US empire as if he were starring in a movie, this time a real one. On the stage, he dances and sings karaoke. Of course, he is accompanied everywhere by a large security detail of Cuban bodyguards who are often mistaken for activists and supporters.
On the street, ABC asked Chavista supporters if they were willing to sacrifice themselves for Maduro. Luzmira Gómez, a 65-year-old housewife, said:"I can't see myself wielding a rifle, it seems ridiculous to me; I support Maduro, but I doubt I'd give my life for him." Next to her, Aracelis Saavedra, 50, remarked:"I'm not a Chavista, it seems incredibly ignorant and brutal to give your life for a ruler who leads us to misery and misfortune."
