Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro led a rally in Caracas on Saturday (August 10) to denounce recent sanctions on the South American country imposed by the United States.

Rally participants including Maduro himself signed petitions that will be sent to the UN Secretary General in a show of opposition to the US measures according to Venezuelan media.

On August 05 Washington announced a freeze on all Venezuelan government assets in the United States, escalating an economic and diplomatic pressure campaign aimed at removing the socialist president.

Maduro remains defiant in the face of increased pressure on his government. At the rally Saturday he said, “Venezuela is prepared to resist, and it is prepared to advance and defeat the imperialist blockade of the racist government of Donald Trump. We are ready for battle.”

Maduro also called Venezuelan opposition leader a “traitor,” saying, “justice sometimes is late, but it comes.”

The United States and most Western nations have recognized Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate leader, arguing Maduro’s 2018 re-election was illegitimate. Maduro calls Guaido a US-backed puppet.

The asset freeze follows repeated rounds of sanctions against Maduro that have hampered Venezuela’s already collapsing socialist economy but failed to dislodge him, or convince his military allies to turn against him.

(Source: Reuters)