Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez stated on Tuesday during a meeting of the Agro-Food, Communal, and Industrial Fishing Staff that “on a personal level, to those who threaten me, I say this: my destiny is decided only by god; that is my response.”
“We are here governing alongside the people,” stated Rodríguez. “The government of Venezuela rules in our country and no one else; there is no external agent that governs Venezuela. It is Venezuela, it is its constitutional government, and it is the consolidated popular power.”
During the meeting, Rodríguez highlighted the strength of the economic indicators achieved at the close of 2025, reporting that Venezuela currently has the highest inventory levels in the last two decades. However, she stated that Venezuela “must ensure that the normal flow of food supplies continues in the country, with the goal and responsibility of strengthening food sovereignty and supply projects for our people.”
Following US military attack against Venezuela, Donald Trump claimed on January 3, “We are going to manage the country until a safe transition can be held… We are going to manage the country until an empowered democratic transition can be realized.” On that same day, he publicly described a looting plan intended to steal Venezuelan oil.
A day later, while aboard his aircraft Air Force One, Trump was asked by journalists who would lead Venezuela. He replied, “Don’t ask me who is in charge, because I will give you an answer, and it will be very controversial.” When pressed by a reporter on what that meant, he said, “It means that we are in charge.”
Also on Sunday, the US ruler explicitly threatened Venezuela’s new Chavista leader, Delcy Rodríguez. “If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” Trump told The Atlantic’s Michael Scherer in a phone interview.
This Tuesday, Rodríguez responded directly to Trump’s threats and called upon Venezuelan men and women to continue working to strengthen the economy, the development of the nation, and the country’s stability.
People standing firm in defense of the homeland
“The Venezuelan people remain firm, and they remain active in defending our Homeland,” she affirmed at the beginning of her speech, referring to the US military attack that targeted Venezuela in the early hours of Saturday, January 3.
After attending their funeral service, the acting president honored the martyrs who fell defending the nation. She also recalled that the criminal armed assault against Venezuela resulted in another illegal outcome: the kidnapping of head of state Nicolás Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores. She characterized this as a blatant violation of international law.
Rodríguez highlighted that President Maduro declared before a court that he is a prisoner of war and, alongside Cilia Flores, innocent of the fabricated US drug-trafficking charges. The US has charged the presidential couple with narcotics trafficking; however, the US authorities have never presented credible evidence for these accusations.
Violation of Human Rights: How the US Attacked Venezuela’s People
Rodríguez noted, “Venezuela is currently in a painful situation due to the aggression it has suffered.” She emphasized that this is an unprecedented action in local and South American history. Despite this, she maintained that “the Venezuelan people are active in the streets, with the women of Venezuela marching today for the peace of our country, for the freedom of our heroes: President Nicolás Maduro, and First Lady Cilia Flores.”
“The Venezuelan people are a people who do not surrender, and we do not give up,” she emphasized.
(Diario Vea) by Yuleidys Hernández Toledo with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
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