President Nicolás Maduro denounced this Tuesday that national and international sectors of the ultra-right wing, are seeking to destabilize Venezuela by promoting the actions of criminal gangs, aiming to plunge the country into a crisis similar to that of Haiti. During a working session in La Guaira dedicated to consolidating the Peace Quadrants, the president warned about these plans:
“Their strategy was to transform Venezuela into what Haiti is today: a territory dominated by armed groups financed by Colombian drug trafficking and the United States, which have led that nation to collapse. They sought to replicate that here,” stated Maduro.
The president asserted that these criminal organizations were created to threaten the stability and lives of Venezuelans. “We cannot forget the onslaught of the bachaqueros (smugglers) during the sanctions imposed at the request of María Corina Machado. This is nothing more than the violent extension of Juan Guaidó’s project, now with an even more cruel and terrorist approach,” he stated.
Furthermore, President Maduro linked former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe to a drug trafficking strategy aimed at glorifying gang leaders, such as a.k.a. “El Coqui,” and then using them in destabilizing actions.
“They promoted him on social media as if he were a hero, with the intention of having his groups carry out an armed insurrection in Caracas. All financed with drugs,” he denounced.
The head of state emphasized that his government has managed to completely dismantle these structures, including “El Coqui” and the Tren de Aragua gang.
The president highlighted the resilience of the Venezuelan people, which has transformed the country into a place of peace, and reaffirmed the legacy of Commander Hugo Chávez: «Venezuela is and will continue to be a free, sovereign, and anti-imperialist territory.»