Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro addressing the Peace Council launched on Tuesday, September 16, 2025. Photo: Presidential Press.
A total of 434 representatives from Venezuela’s most important and varied sectors have spoken out to support the defence of Venezuela during the launching of the National Council for Sovereignty and Peace, in response to the recent heightening of ongoing US imperialist aggression.
The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, led the opening of the meeting in Caracas this Tuesday, September 16, accompanied by his wife and congresswoman, Cilia Flores; the vice president, Delcy Rodríguez; president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez; first vice president of the National Assembly, Pedro Infante; second vice president of the National Assembly, América Pérez; as well as numerous businesspeople, farmers, fishermen, ruling and opposition political parties, university students and authorities, and religious representatives, among others. President Maduro listened attentively to each of the statements made by members of the various public and private sectors present at the meeting.
The president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, reported that various working groups will also be formed within this unitary front to give due attention to each of the realities that have arisen from the various attacks by US imperialism against Venezuela.
The governor of Cojedes state, Alberto Galíndez, representing the country’s opposition parties, stated that policies that produce repression, sanctions, or foreign intervention do not provide lasting solutions for the well-being of the people. In his opinion, history has shown that, instead of building prosperity and peace, they promote uncertainty, discouragement, and poverty.
“We reject any attempt at interference that affects national sovereignty and the right to freely decide our own future through dialogue, negotiation, and mutual respect among nations,” Galíndez said. “In Cojedes, we believe in peaceful means and voting as a driving force for change. The free and informed vote of every citizen is the foundation of our democracy; we demonstrated this by participating and winning resoundingly on May 25 and July 27, against even the power of the Patriotic Pole’s massive electoral machinery. We are governing for all equally,” he concluded, reaffirming that the Venezuelan government has his support.
National unity call
At the event, President Maduro highlighted the importance of unity and reconciliation to defend the country against external threats.
The head of state noted that there is a spirit of unwavering faith in the nation, which has brought a sense of love for the right to independence to the forefront of this fight. “The concept of self-determination of peoples is more relevant today than ever,” he stated, adding that Venezuelans are “together and united to defend their right to be sovereign and free.”
He also emphasized that this reconciliation is with the ideas of justice, liberty, and equality, which were raised by the “liberators of the entire continent,” who never surrendered to any threat, no matter how harsh.
US empire’s threats violate the UN Charter
“Venezuela is being subjected, in an immoral manner, to an absolutely reprehensible, criminal, and immoral threat, which has awakened the patriotic spirit,” President Maduro said, reiterating the threat the nation has experienced in the last five weeks from the US empire. “And I can say, in Venezuela, patriotic fervor runs rampant for our right to peace, sovereignty, and self-determination.”
He pointed out that the threats made by the US colony violate the rules of international law, established in the United Nations Charter 80 years ago. “This is not a national problem. This is an international problem.”
“If there were a serious policy of confrontation and internal violence, it would be channeled, as we have always done, through direct, face-to-face dialogue between Venezuelans,” he said. “Never, as some local oligarchs have attempted, with a threat to launch missiles, bomb our country, blockade it, or invade it. I believe there is a national consensus on this.”
The head of state noted that, according to surveys, 93% of Venezuelans reject the US empire’s threats against Venezuela. He explained that this consensus has emerged because the country has a very strong conscience, an immune defense that has emerged among millions of men and women, “and shapes a national reality.” He explained that “the issues of Venezuelans must be resolved among ourselves, always with the Constitution at the forefront, always through respect, tolerance, dialogue, understanding, and in compliance with the Constitution and the laws.”
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The legacy of the Liberator Simón Bolívar
Deeply moved by the remarks of the community and presenters, President Maduro added that these are “times of commitment and love,” which have allowed him to more deeply understand the proclamations of the Liberator Simón Bolívar. He recalled the harsh history of the First Republic War of Independence and the defeats faced by the liberators, emphasizing that they “never allowed themselves to be overwhelmed by adverse conditions.”
He made direct reference to Bolívar’s Letter from Jamaica, describing it as a text of profound emotion and strategic clarity. In his analysis, he explained how Bolívar, through this letter, explained the sociological and historical reasons for the division of the Venezuelan people, paving the way for his comrades in struggle to understand the need for the banners of the liberation of slaves: equality and freedom as the foundations for building the republic.
“That has gone down in history,” he concluded, “and was one of the vital elements of the historical rectification that Bolívar imposed.”
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/AU
