“There is no external agent who governs Venezuela. It is Venezuela. It is it’s constitutional government, the consolidated popular power,” she said in a televised address a day after being sworn in.
She stated that Venezuela is on a “painful path” because of “the aggression it suffered, unprecedented in our history.”
Rodriguez has also declared seven days of mourning for those killed in the US attack in Caracas.
“I have made the decision to decree seven days of mourning in honor, honor, and glory to the young men and women who died, who gave their lives defending Venezuela, defending President Nicolás Maduro,” she added.
She also called for the return of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who are currently in US custody in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. They pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges on Monday.
“There is no war here because we are not at war. We are a people, a country of peace, that was aggressed and attacked,” Rodriguez continued.
The Venezuelan government has not specified the number of people killed or injured in the US attack but the country’s attorney general said three officials have been appointed to investigate the “dozens” of deaths. On Sunday, the Cuban government said 32 of its citizens were killed during the US operation.
