Venezuela’s President Maduro praises ‘invincible’ military amid tension with US

Venezuela’s President Maduro Praises Military as ‘Invincible Warriors’

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday, December 28, lauded the country’s military as “invincible warriors” and received a .50 caliber sniper rifle during a year-end salute to the Bolivarian National Armed Forces in La Guaira.

Maduro, accompanied by top government officials, said the military’s values of emancipation and humanism had been reinforced over 27 weeks of tensions with the United States.

The president asserted that 2025 had seen the consolidation of Venezuela’s national power—not just in theory, but “on the ground”—with popular and military forces united under his defense plan. He described the armed forces as fully prepared to protect the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

According to Maduro, the ceremony at the Bolivarian Naval Military Academy honored the military’s role as “emancipators, not imperialists” and marked the culmination of efforts to reaffirm the nation’s core values. The event comes amid ongoing tensions with the U.S. in the Caribbean.

-Production: Johnny Carvajal, Hugo Monnet/Reuters