OAN Staff James Meyers
4:04 PM – Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Puerto Rico’s new Republican governor is drawing attention to Venezuelan Socialist President Nicolás Maduro’s military threats against the U.S.-territory island in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s calls for expansion.
In a letter to the 47th president-elect, Puerto Rican Republican Governor Jenniffer González-Colón wrote that she fully expects the Trump administration to “swiftly respond” to Maduro’s weekend threats, and she warned that the “murderous” Socialist dictator is attempting to “grow his influence” in the region.
“Yesterday, just a few days after holding an illegitimate swearing-in ceremony in a desperate attempt to cling on to power in Venezuela, Socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro publicly proposed an invasion of Puerto Rico,” read González-Colón’s letter to Trump.
“This is an open threat to the United States, our national security, and stability in the region,” the governor added. “I trust your incoming administration will swiftly respond and make clear to the Maduro regime that, under your leadership, the United States will protect American lives and sovereignty and will not bow down to the threats of petty, murderous dictators.”
Maduro issued the warning on Saturday during a speech at the International Anti-Fascist (Antifa) Festival in Venezuela’s capital city of Caracas.
“Just as in the north they have a colonization agenda, we have a liberation agenda,” Maduro said at the event.
“And our agenda was written by Simón Bolívar,” he added, invoking the 19th-century South American revolutionary. “The freedom of Puerto Rico is pending, and we will achieve it with Brazilian troops.”
The threat by the Socialist leader came just a day after he was sworn in for another term as president of Venezuela, a title he has held since 2013. Meanwhile, several countries, including the U.S., have maintained that last year’s elections in Venezuela were “illegitimate,” arguing that Maduro’s Socialist party stole the vote. The opposition party in the country also says they have undeniable proof that he cheated his way back into office.
On Tuesday, Representative Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) called Maduro’s threat to invade Puerto Rico “absurd and pathetic,” while praising González-Colón’s leadership in condemning the illegitimate Venezuelan president’s remarks.
“With Biden in the White House, adversaries such as those within the Maduro narco-dictatorship have been emboldened by his weak policy of appeasement,” Diaz-Balart argued.
“But in less than a week, a new foreign policy will begin where freedom and US national security interests are paramount,” he added, referring to the incoming Trump administration. “Friends will be treated as friends, and adversaries as adversaries.”
“Maduro’s days are numbered. If the dictator in Venezuela does not want to end up like other dictators [Benito] Mussolini and [Muammar] Gaddafi, he should leave Venezuela without delay,” Diaz-Balart asserted.
Furthermore, the Puerto Rican governor noted that her citizens have been “proud American citizens since 1917,” and have “repeatedly rejected” efforts to make the U.S. territory island an independent nation.
“Maduro’s calls for an invasion are a clear attempt to get rid of the United States presence and grow his influence in the area,” she wrote.
“As Governor of Puerto Rico, I am ready to work with you and your administration to counter this and other threats posed by the illegitimate Maduro dictatorship and support the people of Venezuela in their quest for freedom,” the governor added. “I also look forward to engaging in meaningful discussions on how to best enhance Puerto Rico’s national security role and take a strong stance against the growing presence of our adversaries in the region.”
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