Gustavo Petro
@petrogustavo
Translated from Spanish
This is the official statement from the Government of Venezuela.
OFFICIAL STATEMENT
BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela rejects, repudiates, and denounces before the international community the extremely grave military aggression perpetrated by the current Government of the United States of America against Venezuelan territory and population in the civilian and military locations of the city of Caracas, capital of the Republic, and the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira. This act constitutes a flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter, particularly its Articles 1 and 2, which enshrine respect for sovereignty, the legal equality of States, and the prohibition on the use of force. Such aggression threatens international peace and stability, specifically in Latin America and the Caribbean, and places the lives of millions of people in grave danger.
The objective of this attack is none other than to seize Venezuela's strategic resources, particularly its oil and minerals, attempting to break the Nation's political independence by force. They will not succeed. After more than two hundred years of independence, the people and their legitimate Government remain steadfast in defense of sovereignty and the inalienable right to decide their own destiny. The attempt to impose a colonial war to destroy the republican form of government and force a "regime change," in alliance with the fascist oligarchy, will fail just like all previous attempts.
Since 1811, Venezuela has faced and defeated empires. When foreign powers bombarded our coasts in 1902, President Cipriano Castro proclaimed: "The insolent boot of the foreigner has profaned the sacred soil of the Fatherland." Today, with the moral fortitude of Bolívar, Miranda, and our liberators, the Venezuelan people rise once again to defend their independence against imperialist aggression.
People to the streets
The Bolivarian Government calls on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilization plans and repudiate this imperialist attack. The people of Venezuela and its Bolivarian National Armed Forces, in perfect popular-military-police fusion, are deployed to guarantee sovereignty and peace. Simultaneously, the Bolivarian Diplomacy of Peace will raise the corresponding denunciations before the United Nations Security Council, the Secretary-General of that organization, CELAC, and the Non-Aligned Movement, demanding condemnation and accountability from the United States Government.
President Nicolás Maduro has ordered all national defense plans to be implemented at the appropriate time and circumstances, in strict adherence to the provisions of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Organic Law on States of Exception, and the Organic Law on National Security.
In this regard, President Nicolás Maduro has signed and ordered the implementation of the Decree declaring a State of External Commotion throughout the national territory, to protect the rights of the population, the full functioning of republican institutions, and to immediately proceed to armed struggle. The entire country must mobilize to defeat this imperialist aggression.
Likewise, he has ordered the immediate deployment of the Command for the Comprehensive Defense of the Nation and the Comprehensive Defense Directorate Bodies in all states and municipalities of the country.
In strict adherence to Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, Venezuela reserves the right to exercise legitimate defense to protect its people, its territory, and its independence. We call on the peoples and governments of Latin America, the Caribbean, and the world to mobilize in active solidarity against this imperialist aggression.
As Supreme Commander Hugo Chávez Frías stated, "in the face of any circumstance of new difficulties, no matter how great, the response of all and all patriots… is unity, struggle, battle, and victory."
Caracas, January 3, 2025
2:48 AM · Jan 3, 2026
https://x.com/petrogustavo/status/2007358443556876416