Caracas, February 6 (RHC)-- Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has reminded Donald Trump that the president of Venezuela is chosen by the Venezuelan people and not the United States.

“In Venezuela, the president is not appointed by the U.S. president; the people choose him through elections," Maduro said and told Trump: "Enough of your extremist obsession!"

These statements were a reaction to the threats spilled by Trump during the State of the Union speech on Tuesday when he pretended to ignore the decision of the Bolivarian people and referred to Juan Guaido as if he were interim president of the South American nation.

In his response to the U.S. president's statements, Maduro also rejected his foreign policy based on "crushing" Venezuela and recalled that the Bolivarian nation continues to work for its development.​​​​​​​  "Never!  Nobody crushes Venezuela. Venezuela walks forward with work, love and perseverance.  Venezuela will continue its path to prosperity and happiness with peace, freedom and dignity,” he said.

The Bolivarian president recalled that his country is sovereign and has the right to choose its own development model.  “We have the right to build socialism and we are going to build a new, democratic, humanist, Christian, socialism... No one will take away the right to build our own destiny,” Maduro stressed.​​​​​​​

Also in Caracas, Venezuela's top diplomat responded to Trump's White House invitation to opposition leader Juan Guaidó.  He addressed Guaidó's appearance at the State of the Union address delivered by Donald Trump.  Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said: “The American ruler, in a delirious and arrogant speech, in which he seemed to resurrect the already obsolete 'Manifest Destiny,' reiterated his contempt for peace, for international law, for life, and, in particular, his contempt for the sovereignty of Venezuela.”