Venezuela to Fearlessly Defend Peace, Minister Says 

Venezuela is a peace-loving country and will struggle tirelessly and fearlessly to achieve that peace, because it hates war, Venezuelan Electrical Energy Minister Ali Rodriguez said.

In a speech at the main event celebrating the National day of Rebelliousness in Cuba, Rodriguez referred to Colombia's war threats and made it clear that there are very few cowards in his country, as Venezuelans are the children of Simon Bolivar, the Liberator.

"Mr. Imperialist, we are not afraid of you at all," said Rodriguez, who highlighted the values of the Colombian people as part of the "Greater Homeland" that was the dream of the founding fathers of Our America.

"We are peaceful, we want to build in peace, but if we are forced to it, our enemies must know that we are as hard as the caguairan tree, what we in Venezuela call quiebrahacha (axe-breaking tree)," he stated.

Reasons for a potential war against Venezuela include its rich oil resources and the pro-integration efforts implemented by President Hugo Chavez's government since 1999, he said.

Oil is very much coveted, and the United States increasingly needs it, he noted, adding that Washington also hates the South American country for proclaiming national and regional unity.

A new torch with the ideals of socialism emerged in Venezuela to fight for human beings and against submission and exploitation, he said.

Rodriguez also criticized the global economic crisis and the installation of U.S. military bases in Aruba, Curacao and Colombia, as well as the U.S. military deployment in Costa Rica "under the pretext of fighting drug trafficking." 

In this regard, he said, both the United States, as the largest drug consumer, and Colombia, the largest drug producer in the region, have been unable to put a stop to this scourge.

PL Translation Staff