Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has teased US President Donald Trump, his fierce opponent, with a message of thanks for making him famous with constant criticism.
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“He has made me famous around the world. Every time he mentions me, they love me more,” Maduro said on Venezuelan state TV, as cited by Reuters. He added that it’s an honor for him to be talked about so much by the leader of the US “empire.”
“That means I’m doing something right,” Maduro said, cheerfully.
Trump has lashed out at Maduro and his ruling Socialist Party so often that he has “become the head of the Venezuelan opposition,” the Venezuelan president said.
Washington has recently slapped new sanctions on Venezuela, adding its government officials to a travel ban, to which Caracas reacted with accusations of “aggression” and “political and psychological terrorism.”
Trump has called Venezuela’s government a “dictatorship,” accusing it of cracking down on democracy and worsening the humanitarian situation in the country, which has seen massive opposition protests.
READ MORE: ‘Political terrorism’: Venezuela slams US travel ban as new act of aggression
Maduro has in turn called the US under Trump a “criminal empire” that meddles in Venezuela’s internal politics by promoting the opposition with the goal of regime change.
In August, the threats escalated all the way to Trump mentioning a “military option” against Maduro, which Caracas called “crazy.”
