US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s Latin America tour aims to “conspire” against Venezuela’s socialist government, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said here Sunday.
“The secretary of state, Tillerson, goes on a tour of five countries. What for? To conspire against President Maduro, against the Bolivarian revolution, against the people of Venezuela,” Maduro told a gathering of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
“But imperialism … has turned out to be a paper tiger, and here we have a true and vigorous revolution,” Maduro added.
“Let’s form a large front of nationalists, of patriots, of revolutionaries … a great anti-imperialist front for the future of Venezuela,” said Maduro.
Tillerson is on a five-nation tour of Latin America that includes four members of the so-called Lima Group of regional governments opposed to Maduro’s administration, namely Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Peru.
Venezuela is to be top of the agenda at each of Tillerson’s stops, which also include Jamaica.
Prior to embarking on his trip on Thursday, Tillerson gave a speech at his alma mater, the University of Texas in Austin, in which he said Venezuela would be better off without Maduro, who “could choose to just leave … that would be the easiest.”
On Friday, Maduro was nominated by the PSUV as its candidate in presidential elections that are set to take place before April 30.
