Alwaght- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has defended the country’s “dignity and sovereignty” against threats by US President Donald Trump.
Trump issued a statement Monday describing Maduro as "a bad leader who dreams of becoming a dictator."
"If the Maduro regime imposes its Constituent Assembly on July 30, the United States will take strong and swift economic actions."
Trump's threats were repeated by the US State Department which released a statement calling on "the Government of Venezuela to abandon the proposed National Constituent Assembly.”
The threats come after record high numbers turned out to participate in a historic dry run vote for the National Constituent Assembly or ANC, which is aimed at easing tensions and creating a more representative constitution.
EU diplomat Federica Mogherini likewise urged Maduro to suspend plans to convene the ANC, noting that the move would be “an important gesture” toward de-escalating tensions.
President Maduro has reacted sharply to the criticism, telling Rajoy "get your nose out of Venezuela" while reminding the “insolent” Mogherini that “Venezuela is a free, sovereign country ... not a colony of Europe.”
In defense of the ANC, Maduro recounted the Battle of Ayacucho in Peru, a concluding military victory of the Latin American revolutionary wars, when the forces of Grand Marshal Antonio Jose de Sucre decisively forced the Spanish Empire to surrender and end its rein over South America.
The dry run vote for the National Constituent Assembly coincided with a symbolic referendum called by the opposition which asked people to vote whether they want a constituent assembly or not; whether they want the armed forces to support the existing constitution and the decisions of the national assembly; and whether they want immediate general elections.
Opposition leaders claimed that more than 7 million Venezuelans participated, 98 percent of whom opposed the assembly, but short of the 11 million they had hoped for in a country of just under 20 million eligible voters.
The US administration of Donald Trump has publicized its policy of pursuing regime change in Venezuela. Speaking in January before his confirmation, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson declared that he would pursue regime change in Venezuela. Tillerson was an executive in ExxonMobil when in 2007, late Venezuelan President Chavez ordered the nationalization of 22 major multinational corporations operating in the country including ExxonMobil. The top US diplomat now appears to be on a revenge mission against the revolutionary Venezuelan government.
