Iconic photo of the Battle of the Bridges on the SimĂłn BolĂvar International Bridge on the border of Venezuela and Colombia, February 23, 2019. File photo.
The president of Venezuela, NicolĂĄs Maduro, stated that the civic-military-police union defended Venezuelan territory and sovereignty and defeated the violence promoted by the far right in the Battle of the Bridges six years ago.
On Sunday, February 23, he commemorated the sixth anniversary of the Battle of the Bridges that occurred on February 23, 2019 on the border with Colombia, when Venezuelan and international far-right forces attempted to invade Venezuela from Colombia and generate a large-scale armed conflict in the country.
âFebruary 23 will be remembered as the day that Venezuela fought for sovereignty and peace in the Battle of the Bridges, where they intended to invade us with so-called ‘humanitarian aid’ and thus create violence to destabilize our country,” President Maduro wrote on social media. “The extremist far right, the same old perverse and evil group that has been involved in all the conspiracies to harm Venezuelan society, failed to take into account a key issue: the civic-military-police union that defends our borders, safeguarding territorial integrity.”
He also shared a video summarizing the event where the people, the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB) and officials from law enforcement agencies defended Venezuela’s territorial integrity.
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He emphasized that the victory in the Battle of the Bridges reflected the spirit of the Venezuelan people, which is strengthened by each test, becoming a collective learning that extends to the individual, and is admired by people all over the world.
âIt was called the Battle of the Bridges, but it was the battle of the bridges, streets, avenues, fields, towns, neighborhoods, cities. It was the battle that we all fought,” he continued. “They tried to invade Venezuela that day, in the battle on the SimĂłn BolĂvar Bridge that connects CĂșcuta with San Antonio del TĂĄchira, and it was not just that one day, it lasted several days. with a group of criminals that they hired in the central-western region of the country to invade Venezuela.â
The head of state added that with this aggression, the far right also tired to establish a narrative that there were dozens of protests in the country, and the constitutional government had been overthrown.
âIt is a poorly prepared script that has become old,” President Maduro added. “They wanted to establish the narrative globally: dozens of protests, Maduro falls, and the people want peace. We have not allowed them to pass, nor will we allow them to pass! The peace of Venezuela is sacred and we will protect it.â
Chavismo Commemorates 4th Anniversary of Anti-Imperial Victory at Battle of the Bridges
Diosdado Cabello in TĂĄchira state
During the commemorative event for the six years of the Battle of the Bridges held on Sunday near the border with Colombia in TĂĄchira state, Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said that the people of Venezuela have not surrendered to anyone. “They did not give up on February 23, 2019, and they will not give up now either,” he said.
âWhy does the right not remember this day? Why do they not celebrate it? Because they do not learn from defeats,” Cabello said. “That arrogant far-right opposition did not care about the dead, they care about nothing, only their ambition. And they have no reason to celebrate because they have not even reflected on the damage that they caused to their own country. On that February 23, after spending the millions of dollars that USAID and US imperialism gave to that band of traitors, only two things were demonstrated: first, that they are great thieves and rats and second, the level of their ineptitude and incapacity is very high.â
He added that imperialism has not bothered to read the glorious history of the Venezuelan people. âThey have never bothered to see what enemy they are facing,” he highlighted. “They can pressure us, they can persecute us, they can sanction us, block us, and the more they do that, the stronger the dignity of the Venezuelan people becomes. This people has never surrendered to anyone throughout its history, more than one empire had to leave this land defeated. We always say that they can enter, the problem will be getting out.â
Cabello stated that six years ago the extremist opposition intended to cross the border to settle in the territory and ask the US empire to invade Venezuela through Colombia in exchange for opening the country’s doors to drug trafficking, “because that was the agreement that Juan GuaidĂł had with [Ălvaro] Uribe and [IvĂĄn] Duque [former far-right Colombian presidents], that Venezuela would be free passageway for drug trafficking.”
(Ăltimas Noticias) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SC
