As the conflict with the US escalates at the diplomatic and military levels, Nicolás Maduro chose a festive tone. This Tuesday evening, he led a Christmas dinner “for peace and happiness” in a popular neighborhood of Caracas, from where he assured that “imperialism cannot” deal with Venezuela, alluding to Washington, which in recent days has increased its pressure with a naval operation in the Caribbean and the seizure of two ships carrying Venezuelan crude oil.
With a Christmas scarf around his neck and surrounded by music, the President He sang, danced, played the timpani and greeted the neighbors the parish of San Agustín, one of the historical bastions of Chavismo. Between selfies and hugs, a musical group set the mood with bagpipes, the typical genre of New Year’s Eve parties in the country.
On Christmas Eve, Maduro announced that the meeting was just the first in a series of celebrations that would be repeated “in all communities in the country,” a Christmas program that he said aims to strengthen “the peace and happiness of Venezuela” even as the external front remains tense.
In a defiant tone, the Chavista leader tried to distance himself from the economic power that the United States usually attributes to him. “I was not a tycoon and never will be. “I am like you: a man from the street, a man of the ordinary, a man from the neighborhood,” he explained, before concluding that, in his opinion, this public closeness is the reason for this “Imperialism cannot defeat us.” The message, broadcast by state broadcaster Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), was accompanied by a clear slogan: “Let’s eat, let’s dance!” And his classic was not to be missed: “Rumba, Rumba!”.
A few kilometers from there and in line with the official speech, the Deputy Vice President and Minister of Hydrocarbons, Delcy Rodríguez, led another Christmas meeting in Caracas. From this scenario, he rejected the measures announced by the Trump administration, which last week reported a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers in and out of Venezuela.
Previously, Maduro had assured that he was receiving “overwhelming support” from the UN Security Council, which this Tuesday held an emergency meeting requested by Caracas in the face of growing pressure from the United States.
On the other side, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz confirmed that Washington would maintain sanctions “to the utmost” to prevent Maduro from financing the so-called Sun Cartel, which the US describes as a terrorist organization linked to the drug trade and which the Venezuelan government rejects as a “fiction”.
Maduro’s celebratory atmosphere contrasted with the warnings that came almost simultaneously from Washington. Trump launched a new threat against the Chavista leader as the US Coast Guard stepped up operations to intercept oil tankers in the Caribbean Sea.
Accompanied by his top national security advisers – Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth – the Republican assured in a press conference that he remains ready to deepen the pressure campaign that began four months ago against the Venezuelan government. The offensive, originally conceived as an attempt to stop the flow of illegal drugs from the Caribbean country, resulted in an increasingly broader and less clearly defined strategy.
“If he wants to do something, if he acts harshly, it will be the last time he acts harshly.”Trump warned against Maduro and briefly interrupted his vacation in Florida to announce plans to build a new large warship for the US Navy. The president added that it would be “the wisest thing” for the Chavista leader to give up power.
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