Official Statement of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Translated
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela rejects, repudiates, and denounces before the international community the extremely grave military aggression perpetrated by the current Government of the United States of America against Venezuelan territory and population in the civilian and military areas of the city of Caracas, the capital of the Republic, and the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira. This act constitutes a flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations, especially Articles 1 and 2, which enshrine respect for sovereignty, the legal equality of States, and the prohibition of the use of force. Such aggression threatens international peace and stability, specifically in Latin America and the Caribbean, and places the lives of millions of people at grave risk.
The objective of this attack is none other than to seize Venezuela's strategic resources, particularly its oil and minerals, by attempting to break the Nation's political independence through force. They will not succeed. After more than two hundred years of independence, the people and their legitimate Government stand firm in defence of sovereignty and the inalienable right to decide their own destiny. The attempt to impose a colonial war to destroy the republican form of government and force a "regime change" in alliance with the fascist oligarchy will fail, as have all previous attempts.
Since 1811, Venezuela has faced and defeated empires. When foreign powers bombarded our coasts in 1902, President Cipriano Castro proclaimed: "The insolent foot of the foreigner has profaned the sacred soil of the Fatherland." Today, with the morale of Bolívar, Miranda, and our liberators, the Venezuelan people rise again to defend their independence against imperial aggression.
People to the Streets!!
The Bolivarian Government calls upon all social and political forces of the country to activate mobilization plans and repudiate this imperialist attack. The people of Venezuela and the Bolivarian National Armed Forces, in a perfect popular-military-police fusion, are deployed to guarantee sovereignty and peace. Simultaneously, Bolivarian Peace Diplomacy will bring the corresponding denunciations before the UN Security Council, the Secretary-General of said organization, CELAC, and the NAM (Non-Aligned Movement), demanding condemnation and accountability from the U.S. Government.
President Nicolás Maduro has prepared all national defense plans to be implemented at the appropriate time and circumstances, in strict compliance with the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Organic Law on States of Exception, and the Organic Law of National Security.
In this regard, President Nicolás Maduro has signed and ordered the implementation of the Decree declaring a State of External Commotion throughout the national territory to protect the rights of the population, the full functioning of republican institutions, and to transition immediately to armed struggle. The entire country must activate to defeat this imperialist aggression. Likewise, he has ordered the immediate deployment of the Command for the Integral Defense of the Nation and the Organs of Direction for Integral Defense in all states and municipalities of the country.
In strict accordance with Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, Venezuela reserves the right to exercise self-defense to protect its people, its territory, and its independence. We call upon the peoples and governments of Latin America, the Caribbean, and the world to mobilize in active solidarity against this imperial aggression.
As Supreme Commander Hugo Chávez Frías noted: "In the face of any circumstances of new difficulties, whatever their size, the response of all patriots... is unity, struggle, battle, and victory."
Caracas, January 3, 2025
