Maduro Slams U.S. Threats as “Diplomacy of Barbarism”

(MENAFN) Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has condemned Washington's efforts to topple his administration and subjugate his nation, dismissing recent American threats and petroleum sanctions as a "diplomacy of barbarism."

During a televised address Wednesday, Maduro accused the United States of attempting to install a "puppet government" in Caracas that "would not last even 47 hours."

He characterized US President Donald Trump's pressure offensive as "warmongering" and designed to plunder Venezuela's natural resources.

"They want regime change in Venezuela to impose a puppet government that would hand over the constitution, sovereignty, and all our riches and turn the country into a colony," Maduro said. "That is not going to happen – never."

The Venezuelan leader's statements came after Trump announced a blockade targeting "sanctioned" oil tankers transporting Venezuelan petroleum. Trump has labeled the Caracas government a "foreign terrorist organization" and claimed it is "stealing" US oil and additional assets.

"Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America. It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before – until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the oil, land, and other assets that they previously stole from us," Trump stated on Tuesday.

Maduro maintained that his country's petroleum commerce and exports will persist, asserting that international law and the UN Charter safeguard navigational and commercial freedoms. "This is not the time for corsairs or piracy," Maduro said.

He emphasized that Venezuela's resources belong solely to its citizens, citing independence hero Simon Bolivar and the national constitution. Maduro further cautioned that Washington's aggressive posture exemplifies what he termed a "diplomacy of barbarism," which contradicts respect for international law and peaceful coexistence.

Maduro declared Venezuela possesses both legal authority and political capacity for self-defense, while asserting backing from "the peoples of the world."

In a regional overture, he urged Colombia and its military to oppose foreign armed interference and honor what he called Bolivar's unity principles. He pledged Venezuela would protect its sovereignty "with strength, with truth, and with love for peace."

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