'US should stay out of Venezuela's internal affairs': President Maduro

About protests in country, Nicolas Maduro says they want to turn Venezuela into a ‘gang-controlled Haiti, Ecuador’

CARACAS:

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday reacted to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's remarks regarding the presidential elections in Venezuela, and said: "The US should stay out of Venezuela's internal affairs."

Speaking to his supporters from the balcony of the Miraflores Presidential Palace in the capital Caracas, Maduro said that Venezuela is a sovereign state and that the will of the people is reflected in the election.

"The US emerges to declare that there is another president in Venezuela. The US should stay out of Venezuela's internal affairs," he said.

About the ongoing protests in the country, Maduro said: "Nearly 85% of the migrants come from Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Texas. We've faced many coups, but we've never seen criminals who set such elaborate traps like these. These are new generation gangs. They want to turn Venezuela into a gang-controlled Haiti and Ecuador."

Maduro called on all candidates who wish to challenge the election results to submit their complaints to the CNE and the Venezuelan Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ).

He emphasized that the decisions made by the CNE and the TSJ after reviewing the complaints would be decisive, adding that they would also submit their own documents to these institutions.

Meanwhile, at the Agricultural Industrial Sector Producers' Economic meeting he attended during the day, Maduro stated that they would continue to support entrepreneurs to strengthen Venezuela's economy.

Pointing out that Venezuela's economy has overcome many obstacles despite the sanctions, Maduro said: "People did not trust the opposition in the election and knew who was responsible for the sanctions. Venezuela has broken hyperinflation and managed to stabilize the dollar exchange rate for months."