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Caracas, Venezuela — The Government of has issued a sweeping and defiant official statement condemning the arrest of President , describing the operation as a “cowardly kidnapping” and accusing external forces of imperial aggression against the Venezuelan state.

In a communiqué released by the Ministry of Popular Power for Defense and endorsed by the (FANB), Venezuelan authorities said Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, were seized following what they claim was the killing of members of the presidential security detail, soldiers, and civilians during the operation carried out on Saturday, January 3.

The statement further announced that, by decision of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice dated January 3, has been appointed Acting President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. According to the release, Rodríguez has assumed “all the powers, duties and faculties of the President” in accordance with the Constitution, the Organic Law on States of Emergency, and the Organic Law on National Security.

As part of the government’s response, authorities confirmed the activation of a nationwide State of External Disturbance, granting expanded powers to security forces and enabling what officials described as “Full Operational Readiness” across the country. The FANB said this posture integrates military, police, and civilian structures into a single operational bloc aimed at safeguarding national sovereignty, internal order, and territorial integrity.

The statement, signed by Defense Minister and Commander-in-Chief , pledged unwavering loyalty to the Bolivarian project and invoked revolutionary rhetoric, declaring the armed forces to be the “United Liberation Army of the 21st Century.” It also reaffirmed Venezuela’s claim over the Essequibo region and vowed resistance against what it called foreign domination.

“Independence or nothing,” the statement concluded, asserting that the Venezuelan state will employ “all available capabilities” to preserve peace, freedom, and sovereignty amid what it framed as an unprecedented assault on the nation.

The declaration comes as the arrest of Maduro continues to reverberate across the Caribbean and Latin America, intensifying regional debates over sovereignty, international law, and the future political direction of Venezuela under interim leadership.