Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro | Photo: VTV

Caracas, September 23 (RHC)-- Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro denounced on Thursday that the United States continues to threaten his country and also seeks to manipulate the citizens of this Caribbean nation.  "Imperialism continues threatening our homeland, imperialism continues arrogantly and arrogantly manipulating, trying to manipulate Venezuela and Venezuelans," Maduro said during a speech broadcast through the state-run Venezolana de Televisión channel.

The president said that despite the threats, his country is still standing and that 2022 has been a year of progress.  "I call on you, compatriots of the deepest Venezuela to consolidate 2022 as a great year of economic growth, economic expansion, social recovery and consolidation of the greatest political force that exists in Venezuela and Latin America," he stressed.

On September 15, Joe Biden's administration threatened Maduro's administration with intensified sanctions if it did not return to negotiations with the opposition in Mexico, suspended in October 2021 following the extradition of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab from Cape Verde to the United States.

On Tuesday, Maduro demanded Biden not manipulate the issue of migration from Latin America and The Caribbean.  "We demand that President Joe Biden not manipulate with the issue of migration from Latin America and the Caribbean, and even less with the issue of Venezuela, a victim of the cruelest sanctions of the U.S. empire," he said.

Maduro stated that the United States lies about the number of migrants and said that his country suffered attacks and sanctions, which is why part of the population decided to migrate.   The president also said that more than half of the population that migrated between 2018 and 2021 returned to Venezuela.