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Puerto Rico’s governor informed President-elect Donald Trump on Monday that she is ready to work with him on responding to Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro’s “open threat” to invade the US territory.
In a letter to the incoming president, Republican Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón noted that she fully expects the Trump administration to “swiftly respond” to Maduro’s weekend saber-rattling and warned that the “murderous” dictator is attempting to “grow his influence” in the region.
“Yesterday, just a few days after holding an illegitimate swearing-in ceremony in a desperate attempt to cling on to power in Venezuela, socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro publicly proposed an invasion of Puerto Rico,” read González-Colón’s missive to the president-elect.
“This is an open threat to the United States, our national security, and stability in the region,” the governor added. “I trust your incoming administration will swiftly respond and make clear to the Maduro regime that, under your leadership, the United States will protect American lives and sovereignty and will not bow down to the threats of petty, murderous dictators.”
Maduro, 62, issued the ominous warning on Saturday during a speech at the International Anti-Fascist Festival in Venezuela’s capital city of Caracas.
“Just as in the north they have a colonization agenda, we have a liberation agenda,” Maduro said at the event.
“And our agenda was written by Simón Bolívar,” he added, invoking the 19th-century South American revolutionary. “The freedom of Puerto Rico is pending, and we will achieve it with Brazilian troops.”
Maduro’s threat came a day after he was sworn in for a new term as president of Venezuela, a position he’s clung to since 2013.
The United States and several other Western powers have decried last year’s elections in Venezuela as “illegitimate,” arguing that Maduro’s repressive socialist regime stole the vote.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) on Tuesday slammed Maduro’s threat to invade Puerto Rico as “absurd and pathetic,” while praising González-Colón’s leadership in condemning the strongman’s remark.
“With Biden in the White House, adversaries such as those within the Maduro narco-dictatorship have been emboldened by his weak policy of appeasement,” Diaz-Balart argued.
“But in less than a week, a new foreign policy will begin where freedom and US national security interests are paramount,” he added, referring to the incoming Trump administration. “Friends will be treated as friends, and adversaries as adversaries.”
“Maduro’s days are numbered. If the dictator in Venezuela does not want to end up like other dictators [Benito] Mussolini and [Muammar] Gaddafi, he should leave Venezuela without delay,” Diaz-Balart asserted, referencing the deposed leaders of fascist Italy and Libya, who were both summarily executed upon being overthrown.
González-Colón told Trump that Puerto Ricans have been “proud American citizens since 1917” and have “repeatedly rejected” efforts to make the island an independent nation – which she suggests is Maduro’s hope.
“Maduro’s calls for an invasion are a clear attempt to get rid of the United States presence and grow his influence in the area,” she wrote.
“As Governor of Puerto Rico, I am ready to work with you and your administration to counter this and other threats posed by the illegitimate Maduro dictatorship and support the people of Venezuela in their quest for freedom,” the governor added. “I also look forward to engaging in meaningful discussions on how to best enhance Puerto Rico’s national security role and take a strong stance against the growing presence of our adversaries in the region.”
The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
