Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has pledged 'unconditional loyalty' to the Venezuelan people, Reuters reported. This comes at a time of heightened tensions between Caracas and the administration of US President Donald Trump, News.bg reports.
Maduro made the statement to a crowd outside the presidential palace, surrounded by senior government officials, during a march to celebrate the swearing-in of new local leaders of the ruling socialist party.
Tensions between the US and Venezuela have increased in recent months due to strikes by US forces against suspected smuggling boats in the Caribbean, repeated threats by Trump to expand military operations on land and the declaration of the group “Cartel de los Soles“, which Washington says includes Maduro - for a foreign terrorist organization. Maduro denies any illegal activities.
“Be assured that just as I swore before the body of our commander Chavez, so I swear before you absolute loyalty, even at the cost of my own life, until we relive this beautiful and heroic story“, Maduro said, referring to his predecessor Hugo Chavez. “I will never disappoint you“, he assured.
The president was accompanied by his wife Celia Flores and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who wore a red baseball cap with the words “Doubt is Treason”, as well as other senior government officials.
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan National Assembly adjourned an extraordinary session to discuss the creation of of a committee to investigate attacks on boats, with the meeting rescheduled for the regular day of debate. Since September, US forces have carried out at least 21 strikes on suspected smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing at least 83 people.
Assembly Speaker Jorge Rodriguez explained that the extraordinary meeting was scheduled to meet with the relatives of the dead and to protect their families.