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Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said Saturday that the government was ready “to defend” the country following an early-morning U.S. military operation in which President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were seized.
Speaking in a televised address, Rodriguez said Venezuela was prepared to protect its sovereignty and natural resources after U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington intended to “run” Venezuela during an interim period and allow U.S. oil companies to develop the country’s energy sector.
“We are ready to defend Venezuela; we are ready to defend our natural resources,” Rodriguez said.
She denounced what she called the U.S. “abduction” of Maduro following airstrikes across the country, describing the operation as a regime-change effort aimed at seizing Venezuela’s oil, mineral and energy reserves.
“The masks have fallen,” Rodriguez said on state television. “The true objective is to dismantle our political independence and reestablish a colonial-style order.”
Rodriguez described the situation as “barbaric,” accusing Washington of using a blockade and military pressure as tools of domination. She said that despite being forcibly removed by U.S. special forces, Maduro remains Venezuela’s sole legitimate leader.
She demanded the immediate release of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
“The Venezuelan people are outraged by the illegal, illegitimate kidnapping of the president and the first lady,” Rodriguez said.
Calling the operation a “truly shameful” ideological attack, Rodriguez said governments around the world were “shocked” by what she described as an assault on Venezuelan sovereignty.
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Surrounded by senior officials, including National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, and the foreign and defense ministers, Rodriguez urged citizens to remain calm and unified.
She called on Venezuelans to stand together in defense of national sovereignty against what she described as an “imperialist empire.”
The televised remarks followed an earlier audio message in which Rodriguez demanded that Washington provide immediate “proof of life” for Maduro and Flores.
The U.S. operation and Trump’s subsequent comments have drawn sharp criticism from Caracas, which has accused Washington of violating international law and seeking control over Venezuela’s vast energy resources.
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