Alwaght- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro affirmed that the main objective of the Constituent Assembly is to guarantee peace, justice and truth, as well as the reconciliation of all Venezuelans.
"We need order, justice, peace, a country that is reunited. We have a single option and that is the National Constituent Assembly," the head of state said during an interview on the Venezuelan state television channel VTV Saturday.
He urged that "politics be conducted with words, conversation, dialogue," in reference to continued violence by the right-wing opposition.
Meanwhile, Venezuela's former foreign minister, and now a candidate for the National Constituent Assembly, Delcy Rodriguez reiterated that as soon as the body is installed, positive decisions will be taken to bring peace to the crisis-hit country.
Speaking in the west of the capital of Caracas, Rodriguez said, "There will be no intervention, there will be no war, there will be a Constituent Assembly."
Elections for 545 representatives to the body are set for July 30, and whose universal, free and popular vote is being threatened by US sanctions and opposition violence.
Meanwhile, the US-backed capitalist and liberal opposition said it will hold another strike starting Wednesday for 48 hours.
Last Monday, US President Donald Trump issued a statement describing Maduro as "a bad leader who dreams of becoming a dictator." Trump added that, "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 Trump administration has publicized its policy of pursuing regime change in Venezuela. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is on record as having stated 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.
