News- World: President Nicolas Maduro has warned that any aggression against Venezuela will be met with a united regional response, emphasizing that the Bolivarian country would not become a colony or subordinate to any foreign power.

Maduro made the remarks during a speech at the Bolivarian Army Military University in Caracas on Tuesday, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate in national defense.

“We will never be a backyard, a colony, or slaves of any supremacist empire,” Maduro said.

He warned that any aggression against Venezuela would be met with a united regional response, referencing a shared history of anti-colonial struggle in South America.

“If Venezuela is attacked, we will all be attacked,” he said. “We must unite as one liberating army of South America to confront imperialist aggression.”

Maduro further noted that the current challenge facing Venezuela is not a choice between “homeland or death,” but rather between “independence and colonization,” or “slavery and free peoples.”

He also highlighted a shift away from foreign military doctrines, stating that Venezuela now follows an independent defense strategy. 

“The 21st-century Bolivarian Revolution launched a powerful military reform and broke all dependence on the old national security doctrines imposed by institutions like the School of the Americas and West Point,” the president said.

Maduro said Venezuela’s military is now guided by a homegrown doctrine inspired by historical independence leaders such as Simón Bolívar, Antonio José de Sucre, and Ezequiel Zamora, describing the armed forces as “well-organized, well-prepared, capable and powerful.”

He explained that Venezuela's political structure includes five branches of government, with emphasis on the additional sources of power-- the popular power and the military power-- even though they are not formalized in the constitution. 

Maduro attributed Venezuela's success in resisting external threats, including years of a 'multiform war' waged by the United States, to national unity and institutional resilience. 

He also referred to his administration’s 'Seven Transformations' plan, which focuses on economic initiatives aimed at boosting domestic production through 13 strategic sectors. 

Maduro's remarks come amid continued tensions with the United States, which has imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s government.

According to media sources, Washington also plans to escalate tensions with Caracas under the pretext of fighting drugs.

So far, the US military has deployed eight warships to international waters off Venezuela’s coast, backed by F-35 fighter jets sent to Puerto Rico, in what it calls an anti-drug operation.

Last Wednesday, thousands of citizens rallied in Caracas to show support for Maduro and their readiness to defend the homeland, as the military showcased its capabilities in drills amid the US military buildup in the Caribbean.

Source: Press TV