(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro declared Saturday that his government has an “agenda” to “liberate” Puerto Rico from the United States. His comments were quickly interpreted as a threat to U.S. sovereignty.
Maduro made the declaration during a campaign rally after being sworn in as Venezuela’s head of state following the highly contested 2024 presidential election.
He invoked liberation leader Simón Bolívar—who led the independence of several Spanish colonies in the 19th century—to claim the independence movement should now extend to Puerto Rico.
“Just as in the north they have an agenda of colonization, we have an agenda of liberation,” Maduro declared. “And the agenda was written for us by Simón Bolivar, the freedom of Puerto Rico is pending and we will achieve it, with the troops of Brazil.”
Maduro emphasized his intentions by repeating his pledge in Portuguese: “E Abreu de Lima irá à frente. Batalhão Abreu de Lima para libertar Porto Rico. What do you think, eh?”
Bolivar, considered the George Washington of South America, is celebrated for spearheading the independence movement in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and Bolivia, all of which were Spanish colonies.
Spain controlled Puerto Rico until the Spanish-American War when the U.S. seized the territory. The U.S. granted birthright citizenship to Puerto Ricans in 1917.
Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón issued a scathing rebuke of Maduro’s remarks, calling on President-elect Donald Trump to swiftly address the threat after the Jan. 20 inauguration.
“I trust your incoming administration will swiftly respond and make clear to the Maduro regime that, under your leadership, the United States will protect American lives and sovereignty and will not bow down to the threats of petty, murderous dictators,” Colón wrote in a letter on Monday.
Colón, a Trump ally, previously served as Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro called for an invasion of Puerto Rico, an open threat to the United States and our national security. I sent a letter to President @realDonaldTrump, trusting his administration will swiftly respond and make clear to the Maduro narco-regime that… pic.twitter.com/fmq32X793n
— Jenniffer González (@Jenniffer) January 13, 2025
