By Thebe Mabanga
Venezuela condemned U.S. “military aggression” on Saturday after President Donald Trump said America carried out large-scale strikes and that President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been “captured and flown out of the country” — a claim Venezuelan officials said they could not immediately verify.
In a statement released by the Venezuelan government shortly thereafter, it said it “rejects, repudiates and denounces” the “military aggression” by the United States.
Venezuela said the military attacks took place in the capital Caracas as well the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira. The South American oil-rich country said the action violated the United Nations Charter and threatened stability in the Latin American and Caribbean regions.
“The objective of this attack is none other than to seize Venezuela’s strategic resources, particularly its oil and minerals, in an attempt to forcibly break the nation’s independence,” the statement said, adding, “they will not succeed.”
Venezuela holds some of the largest proven oil reserves, moreover the type preferred in US refineries.
Venezuela said it had filed official complaints with the United Nations Security Council and the office of the Secretary General, The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), demanding accountability from the US.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said the government had requested an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council in response to the attacks.
Venezuela’s vice president demanded proof of life for Maduro and Flores, saying their whereabouts were unknown, as uncertainty persisted over who was running the country after the strikes.
The government statement said Maduro had declared a national emergency and ordered the activation and deployment of national defence structures across the country.
However, it was not clear when those orders were issued given Trump’s claim that Maduro and Flores had been detained and taken out of Venezuela.
Maduro first won the presidency in 2013 by a narrow margin over opposition candidate Henrique Capriles, after the death of President Hugo Chávez.
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