THE Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela rejects, condemns, and denounces before the international community the extremely grave military aggression carried out by the current Government of the United States of America against Venezuelan territory and population, targeting both civilian and military locations in the city of Caracas, the capital of the Republic, as well as the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira.

This act constitutes a flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations, particularly Articles 1 and 2, which enshrine respect for sovereignty, the legal equality of States, and the prohibition of the use of force. Such aggression threatens international peace and stability, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean, and places the lives of millions of people at serious risk.

The objective of this attack is none other than the seizure of Venezuela’s strategic resources, particularly its oil and mineral wealth, through an attempt to forcibly undermine the Nation’s political independence.

They will not succeed. After more than two hundred years of independence, the people and their legitimate Government remain steadfast in the defense of sovereignty and the inalienable right to determine their own destiny. The attempt to impose a colonial war in order to destroy the republican form of government and force a so-called “regime change,” in alliance with the fascist oligarchy, will fail, just as all previous attempts have failed.

Since 1811, Venezuela has confronted and defeated empires. When foreign powers bombarded our coasts in 1902, President Cipriano Castro proclaimed: “The insolent foot of the foreigner has profaned the sacred soil of the Fatherland.” Today, with the moral strength of Bolivar, Miranda, and our liberators, the Venezuelan people rise once again to defend their independence in the face of imperial aggression.

People to the streets

The Bolivarian Government calls upon all social and political forces of the country to activate mobilization plans and to repudiate this imperialist attack. The people of Venezuela and their Bolivarian National Armed Force, in perfect popular–military–police unity, are fully deployed to guarantee sovereignty and peace. At the same time, the Bolivarian Diplomacy of Peace will submit the corresponding complaints before the United Nations Security Council, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, CELAC, and the Non-Aligned Movement, demanding the condemnation of and accountability from the Government of the United States.

President Nicolas Maduro has ordered all national defence plans to be placed at full readiness, to be implemented at the appropriate time and under the appropriate circumstances, in strict accordance with the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Organic Law on States of Exception, and the Organic Law on National Security.

Accordingly, President Nicolas Maduro has signed and ordered the implementation of the Decree declaring a State of External Emergency throughout the national territory, in order to protect the rights of the population, ensure the full functioning of republican institutions, and immediately transition to armed struggle. The entire country must be activated to defeat this imperialist aggression.

Likewise, he has ordered the immediate deployment of the Command for the Integral Defence of the Nation and the Integral Defence Leadership Bodies in all states and municipalities of the country.

In strict accordance with Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, Venezuela reserves the right to exercise legitimate self-defence in order to protect its people, its territory, and its independence. We call upon the peoples and governments of Latin America, the Caribbean, and the world to mobilise in active solidarity in the face of this imperial aggression.

As stated by Supreme Commander Hugo Chavez Frías: “In the face of any new circumstance of difficulty, whatever its magnitude, the response of all patriots must be unity, struggle, battle, and victory.”

Caracas, January 3, 2026