On Wednesday, Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro warned that his country must “stand like warriors … ready to smash the teeth of the North American empire”—a remark that coincided with the U.S. seizure of an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast.
Maduro made these comments while clutching the sword of Simón Bolívar at a rally, where footage captured him singing and dancing to a recording of American artist Bobby McFerrin’s late-1980s hit, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” He told supporters Venezuelans must remain vigilant as tensions with Washington escalate.
“In these times, things have to be different, but we must always stand like warriors, women and men,” he stated in a translated version of his speech. “With one eye wide open — and the other one too — working, producing, building, keeping everything running, and ready to smash the teeth of the North American empire if necessary, from Bolivar’s homeland.”
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the U.S. had impounded an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast, significantly raising tensions with Caracas. Attorney General Pam Bondi explained the tanker was seized on suspicion of carrying sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.
Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry denounced the action in an official statement, labeling it “a brazen robbery and ” and accusing Trump of openly pushing a plan to “take Venezuelan oil without paying anything in return.”
The ministry noted the action fits into a long-running U.S. effort to exploit the country’s natural resources and drew a parallel to the loss of Citgo Petroleum Corp.—which Caracas asserts was seized via “fraudulent judicial mechanisms.”
The statement contended that “the true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela” have no connection to migration, drug trafficking, democracy, or human rights, maintaining it “has always been about our natural resources, .”
It also accused Washington of using the tanker incident to divert attention from the failure of political initiatives in Oslo by groups aiming to oust Maduro.
Caracas urged Venezuelans to “remain firm in defense of the homeland” and appealed to the international community to reject what it labeled “vandalistic, illegal and unprecedented aggression.”
The government stated it will submit its complaint to all accessible international bodies and pledged to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and control over its energy assets, proclaiming: “Venezuela will not allow any foreign power to attempt to seize from the Venezuelan people what belongs to them by historical and constitutional right.”
Tensions between the two nations have intensified following months of U.S. maritime strikes targeting vessels used by [blank] to transport narcotics, per Washington’s claims.
Reuters reported over 80 individuals have died since September, while another article outlined increased surveillance and security crackdowns in coastal communities impacted by the strikes.
Late last month, Maduro spoke at a large Caracas rally holding Simón Bolívar’s sword, warning supporters to prepare for “imperialist aggression.” His defiant address came after Trump said the U.S. will “very soon” start intercepting suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers on land.
Trump stated he had not ruled out sending U.S. troops to Venezuela as part of the administration’s crackdown on criminal networks tied to senior Caracas officials.
“No, I don’t rule out that. I don’t rule out anything,” he said.
He also left room for potential negotiations.
“We may be having some conversations with Maduro, and we’ll see how that turns out. They would like to talk,” Trump told reporters during the weekend.
Since early September, U.S. strikes [blank] and in the eastern Pacific have destroyed dozens of ships. U.S. officials claim many were linked to Venezuelan and Colombian criminal groups.
Maduro was present at last month’s rally clutching Simón Bolívar’s sword— the 19th-century independence leader known as the liberator of most of South America. He told supporters the nation faced a critical juncture.
’ Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.