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Brave Maduro: US govt. ‘only enemy’ of Venezuela: Maduro

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The Venezuelan president says the US government is the “only enemy” of the South American country as the international community rallies in support of Caracas.

Washington, and not the American people, remains the real threat to Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro said during a pro-government rally at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in the capital city of Caracas on Thursday.

He went on to say, however, that the Venezuelan people cannot be defeated by any empire today.

“Our people have rejected the aggression of the imperialist US government. It has been a wave of courage because no empire… has been born yet that can twist the arm and defeat the Venezuelan people,” Maduro added.
The statements come after US President Barack Obama labeled the Venezuelan government as a national security threat earlier this week.

International support for Maduro

Latin and South American leaders from Cuba, Argentina and Ecuador have expressed support for Maduro while denouncing Obama’s executive order labeling Venezuela a threat. They also accused the US of meddling in the regional affairs.

“No one has the right to intervene in the internal affairs of a sovereign state or to declare, without foundation, someone a threat to national security,” said an official statement released by Cuba on Tuesday.

On Monday, Washington imposed a new round of sanctions against seven Venezuelan officials accused of being involved in what it called human rights violations and corruption, including a crackdown on anti-government protests last year, which left 43 people dead.

Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa has also accused the United States of violating other countries’ sovereignty, adding that this will eventually change.

Analysts say the political row between Venezuela and the US may damage Washington’s hopes in improving relations with Latin and South American countries in the wake of the Cuba rapprochement.

Last month, Maduro accused the US of plotting a coup against his government.

Although denying involvement in the recent coup plot against Caracas, the United States previously admitted that it had endorsed a coup that briefly toppled late Hugo Chavez in 2002.

Caracas and Washington have been at odds since Chavez became Venezuela’s president in 1999.

Tensions between the two countries have intensified since Chavez’s death in 2013.

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