Venezuela's Maduro: We Don't Want to Be Like Libya

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro spoke on Wednesday with international media in a Caracas press conference Wednesday, stressing that the country is facing a crisis but also stating that the country needs peace in order to ensure social stability.

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“We are prepared for peace and we do not want Venezuela to be like Libya,” Maduro said. The Venezuelan leader accused the right-wing opposition of being behind the destabilization affecting the country, but added that external factors such as the plunge in oil prices have contributed to the current crisis.

“The right wing are a bunch of bad comedians, but the Supreme Court has given its resolution and we must abide by it,” Maduro said referencing the top court's decision to nullify an attempt by the opposition-controlled National Assembly to "impeach" him on charges of dereliction of duty. “It’s against the constitution to try to oust a president by those means, the impeachment process does not even exist in the constitution.”

Maduro also said his government will continue to work with other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, to stabilize the global price of oil in the wake of a December agreement that saw all 14 member-states and 11 non-members agree to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day

Acknowledging that Venezuela is passing through one of its worst economic and social crisis, Maduro said he was confident that 2017 will be a year of recovery for the South American country.

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Despite the ongoing institutional battles between the legislature and executive, Maduro vowed to continue promoting dialogue with the opposition, saying it was the only way to solve the differences with the opposition. “Dialogue has no alternative, because the only alternative would be a war and Venezuela is a land of peace,” he said.

Maduro also defended the sentences against jailed opposition figures, including Leopoldo Lopez, saying he only expects the judicial system to do what it has to for the victims and relatives of the 2014 protests. The opposition-led protests and barricades, known as the Guarimbas, formed part of the widespread violence which left 43 dead and over 870 injured.

The Venezuelan president also addressed the situation of his nation’s border with Colombia, where trafficking of subsidized Venezuelan goods and currency are seen as major contributors to Venezuela's economic woes. Maduro announced that official 20 currency exchange locations would be set up to undercut the black market by making bolivars available at the floating DICOM rate.