Venezuela gov’t slams US' Pence for backing protects

By Lokman Ilhan

BOGOTA (AA) – Venezuela on Tuesday slammed U.S. Vice President Mike Pence for supporting the country's opposition.

During a press conference in the capital, Caracas, Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez said Pence was “openly calling for a coup”, stating Pence was trying to interfere in the affairs of Venezuela.

Her remarks came in reaction to a video Pence posted on Twitter in which he criticized Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro, calling him a "dictator" with no legitimate claim to power.

Pence delivered the address in English, with a few Spanish phrases mixed in, and called on Venezuelans to come together before a demonstration planned for Wednesday, marking the fall of Venezuela's military government in 1958.

"As you make your voices heard tomorrow, on behalf of the American people, we say to all the good people of Venezuela: estamos con ustedes," Pence said in Spanish, followed by English: "We are with you, we stand with you, and we will stay with you until democracy is restored and you reclaim your birthright of libertad."

Rodriguez called Pence out to “take care of” the U.S.’s own affairs, pointing out the government shutdown in America.

- Protests in Venezuela

After the opposition called for a nationwide protest against Maduro on Wednesday, Diosdado Cabello, Vice President of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) called for protests in support of Maduro’s administration.

A group of soldiers calling for an uprising against the government in Caracas’s poor neighborhood Cotiza were reportedly arrested Monday.

The protests -- called “Cacerolazo”-- which consist of banging pots and pans, also in Cotizaalso, spread to other districts of the city.

Maduro first took office in 2013 following the death of his predecessor Hugo Chavez.

The Venezuelan president is set to govern for another six-year term until 2025 after being inaugurated earlier this month.

The U.S. has criticized Maduro throughout his time in office, and shown support for Venezuela's National Assembly, led by Guaido, as the "last vestige of democracy."

Miguel Pizarro, deputy to the National Assembly for the city of Petare, said the march Wednesday will be the day citizens will show their power and millions of Venezuelans will tell the international community that the fight will not end.