Before the sanctions imposed by the Government of the United States, the minister of People’s Power for the Defense, Vladimir Padrino Lopez, rejected this Saturday the aggressions of the northern country by means of an official communiqué by the Bolivarian National Armed Forces.
During a reading of a communiqué, and accompanied by the Military High Command, he detailed that Bolivarian National Armed Forces “sees with a grave astonishment the demonstrations and expressions of the Department of State and the Government of the United States, through an official spokesman where he points out an infamous, gross, rude blackmail against the FANB after the Department of the Treasury sanctioned military officials, a fact which we reject “.
He added that they maintain their dignity intact, and that they will defend their “own honor, military honor, a condition that requires us to fulfill with great accuracy the duty that the Constitution and the laws impose on us to protect the people, guarantee sovereignty and territorial integrity” .
“May the world know that we are standing, we maintain our dignity intact, we will keep our eyes on, we will defend with our reason and if necessary with our arms the honor and sovereignty of the country,” said the Minister.
Following, the Complete Communiqué:
“With enormous repulsion and deep indignation, we have known the comments made by the US government through its spokesperson, journalist Heather Nauert, who pointed out that the members of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces could avoid sanctions if they respect the rule of law and change their behavior, after which these sanctions would be removed. Likewise was also commented that by placing their interests above those of their fellow citizens, they can not expect immunity from sanctions and international responsibility.
Such statements reflect a supine ignorance regarding our military institution. In this sense it is necessary to make the following precisions:
1. It makes see their absolute ignorance about the libertarian traditions inherited from the independence heroes; especially the ideology of Simon Bolivar, the liberator, whose thought bequeathed us the love for independence, freedom, justice and peace, beautiful philosophy that has marked our actions for more than two centuries of republican history.
2. They forget that, very contrary to what the Armed Forces of their country do, ours does not invade nations nor generate wars of tragic consequences for humanity. On the contrary, ours has only crossed its borders to liberate other peoples from oppression and imperial tyranny.
3. They do not understand that the Bolivarian National Armed Forces is not, and never will be, a body of mercenaries sold to the highest bidder executing atrocities in any part of the world, paid by large economic corporations and power groups that always pursue the satisfaction of their particular interests, normally linked to the world capitalist system.
4. They ignore that Venezuelan democracy has had in men and women in uniform, an invaluable support to ensure the exercise of popular sovereignty through voting, and consequently have ensured the proper functioning of state institutions, as well as the stability and peace of the nation.
5, They ignore the mission that the supreme law of the country, the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, has assigned us, and that in the shelter of the Bolivarian Revolution, the institution has strengthened and consolidated its popular, nationalist, anti-imperialist, anti-oligarchic and humanist character, directing all its efforts to defend the sacred interests of the Venezuelan people, its raison d’être.
For all the above, we categorically reject these light and aberrant comments, in which, as it is characteristic of the imperialist agents, lies intimidation, threat and blackmail.
It is unusual to impose sanctions on some comrades-in-arms alleging corruption and oppression, precisely at a time when the actions of the Bolivarian Government presided over by citizen Nicolás Maduro Moros, Commander in Chief of the FANB, have restored citizen peace, while at the same time carries out a brave crusade against public corruption. In doing so, the treasury department arrogates supranational powers, which undoubtedly constitute a gross act of interventionism, violating elementary rules of international law.
But we are fully aware that the aforementioned sanctions are part of a treacherous strategy of hybrid warfare, whose purpose is to undermine the bases of the legitimately constituted Venezuelan government and generate ungovernability to carry out shady plans of domination.
Bolivar would say to us from Jamaica: “We have seen the light and we are wanted to return to the darkness: the chains have been broken; We have already been free, and our enemies again try to enslave us. ” They will not make it!
Let the whole world know, and especially the American empire with its internal and external allies: they will not intimidate us with sanctions of any nature! in the soldier men and women of Bolivar, Zamora and Chávez, they will always find the fiercest resistance they can imagine, because we are shielded with a thick layer of dignity, love for the country and freedom.”
