Caracas, March 13 (teleSUR-RHC)-- Speaking at an anti-imperialist rally in Caracas on Thursday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro suggested that he would be willing to travel to the United States to talk with President Barack Obama directly about his statement that Venezuela constitutes an “unusual and extraordinary threat" to U.S. national security.
"Maybe I'll show up in Washington at that exhibition, to show my face for my country and tell the government in Washington they are committing grave mistakes," President Maduro said.
Venezuela is preparing to put on an expo in Washington designed to counter the misconceptions about Venezuela put forward by hostile media outlets. The expo recently finished a successful run in Madrid, Spain.
Obama issued an executive order on Monday declaring a “national emergency” over the alleged threat Venezuela represents to the United States, prompting fears that the U.S. is laying the foundation for military action against the country.
U.S. officials insist that the Obama government is not working to unconstitutionally oust Maduro from power.
However, a high-ranking official from the U.S. government-funded National Endowment for Democracy was caught secretly meeting with opposition figures in Venezuela.
Reporters also reacted incredulously when U.S. Department of State spokeswoman Jen Psaki stated at a press briefing on Wednesday: "As a matter of long-standing policy, the United States does not support political transitions by non-constitutional means."
The U.S. government backed a 2002 coup against Maduro's predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez. It also supported unconstitutional transitions of power in Honduras in 2009 and in Paraguay in 2012.
The new threats against Venezuela by the United States have served to galvanize support both within and outside Venezuela for the democratically-elected government.