The US Has Not Complied With Agreements: President Maduro

On Monday night, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro denounced that the United States has not complied with the signed agreements, particularly with the lifting of the illegal coercive measures imposed against his country.

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"They never fulfilled a single comma of the signed agreement, never. The U.S. signed an agreement and should have lifted all sanctions against Venezuela. That is the truth," he asserted.

"One year ago, they asked us to engage in conversations with them confidentially and privately," he said and recalled that the signed agreements were focused on "the total lifting of all illegal and criminal sanctions against Venezuela."

"More than nine meetings took place: six meetings in Qatar and three in Milan. In these meetings, Venezuela was represented by Jorge Rodriguez, an expert in this type of negotiations; Governor Hector Rodriguez; Attorney General Reinaldo Muñoz, and the National Human Rights Commissioner, Larry Devoe," he detailed.

"In the conversations, we made claims. On the side, however, there was an agreement to achieve the release of diplomat Alex Saab, a political prisoner, on December 20. It was an exchange: they returned our kidnapped and tortured diplomat, and we returned a group of CIA agents, some of whom had come to invade Venezuela," Maduro added.

The Bolivarian leader also warned that the U.S. intends to monitor and control the Venezuelan oil industry through licenses.

"They want to harm Venezuela economically. I say to Venezuelan workers, entrepreneurs, and all our people: we have adopted our own economic model. Despite threats and sanctions, we learned to work and recover," he emphasized.

Conflict in the Middle East

Regarding the current situation in the Middle East, President Maduro warned that it is a consequence of the actions of "the Zionist and neo-fascist right supported by the United States." He advocated for diplomacy and rationality to prevent the conflict from escalating.

"An escalation of the conflict, as a result of the Nazi madness of Benjamin Netanyahu, could lead us to a third world war. Venezuela advocates for peace, rationality, diplomacy, and truth," he reiterated.

Commitment to the fight against corruption

Maduro reaffirmed his commitment to the fight against corruption in Venezuela and notified that authorities made new arrests in the PDVSA-Crypto corruption scheme.

"In this case, we made the first strikes a year ago. Now we have progressed to the discovery with irrefutable evidence and testimonies of the responsibility of the highest hierarchs that we have captured and are imprisoned. They must be punished with the maximum penalties established by the Venezuelan Penal Code. Let whoever falls, fall!" he asserted.

The Venezuelan president thanked the investigative capacity of the Prosecutor's Office and the state security forces because "all the latest captures have revealed the plot, evidence, names, and formulas to hide money in cryptocurrencies."

Maduro also asked citizens to debate the possibility that, based on the Venezuelan constitution and laws, the maximum penalties be established against those who engage in acts of corruption.

"I have a first document that was made by experts led by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. It conducts a comparative study of life imprisonment in the U.S. and countries in Latin America and Europe. It is an important debate. We have to strengthen the state and its punitive capacity because that generates a deterrent effect. Anyone who intends to commit acts of corruption will have to think many times because they could end up rotting in jail," he emphasized.

Maduro also recalled that any amendment or reform to the Venezuelan Constitution must be submitted to a popular referendum because "it is the people who speak and decide."

Opposition division is due to imperialism's failure

The Bolivarian leader affirmed that the ideological division suffered by opposition sectors is due, in the first instance, to the "failure of American imperialism in Venezuela."

"I am not guilty that the opposition has 24 political parties and 12 candidates. That is your fault. We have a great social and political force that remains united and has a single candidate. The candidate is the people!" he said.

During a conversation in Caracas, Maduro and Colombian President Gustavo Petro discussed the issue of political opposition fragmentation. On that occasion, Petro asked Maduro if he saw it wrong that he met with various Venezuelan opposition parties.

"I told him: 'I think it's excellent to have a conversation with the opposition here in Caracas. If you want, receive them in Bogota. Help us in everything you can so that there is peace and understanding in Venezuela and so that they no longer lie about Venezuela. July 28, the day of the presidential elections, will be a democratic celebration of unity and reunion among Venezuelans,'" Maduro said.

Meeting with Colombian president

At the meeting held on April 9, Maduro and Petro reviewed issues related to diplomatic relations, investments, and border security.

"We agreed on new levels of cooperation in the fight against criminal gangs and discussed the peace process in Colombia," the Venezuelan president said.

"We thoroughly reviewed a wide range of topics, and I believe that President Petro's visit was very important and positive. We hope to continue cooperation with Colombia through dialogue and understanding," he added.

Rejection of Chilean government interventionism

Maduro rejected the interventionist attitude of the administration of Chilean President Gabriel Boric and assured that combating criminal groups must be achieved within the framework of dialogue and respect between countries.

"Here what is needed is cooperation and respect, not interventionism. I have never meddled in the internal affairs of Chile, nor should anyone interfere in the internal affairs of Venezuela. Many things can be achieved through dialogue and communication," he said, and recalled that the criminal groups operating in Chile were hired by the right-wing of that country and "sought to invade Venezuela from Cucuta with the help of the imperialist government."

Maduro offered Chile to share its experience in public policy in combating criminal organizations, reflected in programs such as "the peace quadrants model," which is based on civilian-military-police union. Thanks to such interventions, Venezuela was able to dismantle the criminal organization known as "El Tren de Aragua."

CELAC Summit

Regarding the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to be held on Tuesday virtually, the Venezuelan president reiterated that his country will condemn the fascist assault on the Mexican Embassy in Quito, where Ecuadorian security forces violently entered to kidnap former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas, who had received political asylum from President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

"The government of President Daniel Noboa did that, a member of that far-right oligarchy that has looted and destroyed Ecuador for decades and that is very aligned with the policy of the United States," he said.

"Let no one ever doubt that the violation of the Mexican embassy had the support of U.S. SouthCom and the State Department."