Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro’s Threat to Puerto Rico Sparks Outrage in the US
Over the weekend, Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro made an unexpected threat to “liberate” Puerto Rico from the United States. Speaking at an event in Caracas, he stated, “Just as in the north they have a colonization agenda, we have a liberation agenda,” referencing the ideals of Latin American independence leader Simón Bolívar. He claimed that the freedom of Puerto Rico is “pending” and that Venezuela would achieve it.
Maduro recently took the oath for his third term after an election criticized for irregularities, with vote counts suggesting he may not have won a majority. The US does not recognize him as the legitimate leader of Venezuela and has accused him of human rights abuses, vote-rigging, and drug trafficking. In 2020, he was indicted on narco-terrorism charges in a US federal court, and the Biden administration recently raised the bounty for his capture to $25 million.

Source: Carlos E. Perez / CC BY SA 4.0
Puerto Rico is over 400 nautical miles from Venezuela, and the Venezuelan military’s ability to project power is limited, with only four aging tank landing ships available for any potential amphibious operation. Despite the limited threat of invasion, Puerto Rico’s governor has urged the incoming US administration under President-elect Donald Trump to respond to Maduro’s aggressive remarks. Governor Jenniffer González-Colón emphasized that Puerto Ricans have voted to remain part of the U.S. and expressed confidence that the new administration would protect American lives and sovereignty against threats from dictators.
Several US officials have also condemned Maduro’s threat. Representative John Rutherford (R-FL) called Maduro a “brutal dictator” and stressed the need to support Venezuelans seeking freedom while holding countries like Cuba, China, Russia, and Iran accountable for supporting Maduro’s regime.