'Poisonous snake,' says Maduro about Pence.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro called US Vice President Mike Pence, who is on a trip through Latin America, including Brazil and Ecuador, a "venomous snake." "Every time that venomous snake Mike Pence opens its mouth, I feel stronger, clearer about the path we're on. The path is ours, it's Venezuelan, not the one Mike Pence points out to us," said Maduro.

June 28, 2018, 10:56 pmUpdated July 02, 2018, 08:55 pm

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro called US Vice President Mike Pence, who is on a trip through Latin America, including Brazil and Ecuador, a "venomous snake"; "Every time that venomous snake Mike Pence opens its mouth, I feel stronger, clearer about which path to take, the path is ours, it's Venezuelan, it's not the one Mike Pence points out to us," said Maduro (Photo: Paulo Emílio).

Brazil Agency - Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Wednesday (28) called US Vice President Mike Pence a "venomous snake," who is on a trip through Latin America, passing through Brazil and Ecuador. In Brazil, Pence met with President Michel Temer and went to Manaus to visit a shelter intended to accommodate Venezuelan immigrants.

"Every time Mike Pence's venomous snake opens its mouth, I feel stronger, clearer about which path to take. The path is ours, it's Venezuelan, not the one Mike Pence points out to us," said Maduro during an event broadcast by the state television station VTV, on the occasion of the presentation of the National Journalism Prize.

"That's not what he says Venezuela will do, you failed and defeated Mike Pence. Yes, we defeated you and we will defeat you wherever you are, wherever you travel, Mike Pence, the Bolivarian revolution is becoming stronger and stronger," the president added.

During a visit to a refugee shelter in Manaus, Amazonas, Pence said that Maduro's government is a "brutal dictatorship that has weakened the economy" and caused a "mass exodus" of Venezuelans.

During his trip to Brazil, the American official called for "firm action against the Maduro regime," whom he accused of turning Venezuela into "a poor country."

Defender

Maduro defended himself by stating that his country is suffering an "economic war," a thesis of the ruling Chavista regime that attributes the poor performance of its economy to alleged acts of sabotage orchestrated by opponents and the United States itself, and by noting that 24 elections have been held in Venezuela in the last 19 years.

The Venezuelan criticized the "complexed and racist" European Union, which this week imposed new sanctions against 11 high-ranking Venezuelan government officials, and stated that the bloc's countries are "on their knees" before US President Donald Trump.