Khaberni - Interim President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez, on Thursday, in a speech before the Parliament, affirmed that her country does not fear "diplomatically confronting the United States", following the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro less than two weeks ago in a U.S. military operation in Caracas.
Rodriguez stated in her speech about the state of the nation "We know that the United States is very powerful. We are not afraid to confront it diplomatically, through political dialogue", which triggered a wave of warm applause in the Parliament.
She also called on the United States to "preserve the dignity of President Nicolas Maduro and the dignity of the First Lady" Celia Flores, who was arrested with him.
The couple was imprisoned in the United States awaiting trial on charges related to drug trafficking.
Rodriguez took office on January 5, having been Maduro’s deputy, and she is among the Venezuelan figures sanctioned by the United States in recent years.
The address by the acting Venezuelan president came the day after she made a call with U.S. President Donald Trump, who described her as a "great person", confirming a "good understanding" with her.
During her speech on Thursday, she said "I have always said that if one day, as an acting president, I had to go to Washington, I would do so standing, without crawling (at anyone's feet)".
Under U.S. pressure, the Venezuelan government signed oil deals with the United States and announced the release of political prisoners.
On Thursday, Rodriguez promised to introduce reforms in the legislation governing the oil sector, especially what is known as the anti-blockade law, which provides the government tools to deal with U.S. sanctions imposed since 2019.
Concurrently, on Thursday, Trump welcomed Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado at the White House.
