Overview
- During a ceremony in Caracas, Nicolás Maduro briefly sang John Lennon’s Imagine and urged supporters to do everything for peace.
- Maduro accused the United States of intending to bomb and invade Venezuela and proclaimed peace for Venezuela, the Caribbean, and South America.
- He presided over the swearing-in of Comités Bolivarianos de Base Integral, described as neighborhood teams tasked with defending against external threats.
- Venezuelan authorities say the country has maintained roughly three months of military mobilization in response to U.S. naval and air deployments since August.
- Washington recently announced the Caribbean operation Lanza del Sur as a counter-narcotics effort, which Venezuelan officials portray as a bid to trigger conflict.