President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, reiterated that his country is willing to engage in direct dialogue with the United States to preserve peace and regional stability, and called on the Venezuelan people to maintain "absolute serenity" in the face of military threats from Washington. The Venezuelan head of state stated this in an interview with Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet, which was accessed by the Argentine News Agency. In the interview, Maduro affirmed that the US is attempting to reaffirm its dominance over Latin America under the Monroe Doctrine. In this sense, he considered that the current military threats against Venezuela are a message of force to the entire region, although he maintained that the international scenario is increasingly multipolar and that the Global South "has consolidated itself as a key actor". Likewise, the Venezuelan president insisted that his country seeks to avoid an escalation of tensions. "We are ready to dialogue and defend peace," he stressed, while denouncing a renewed campaign that presents Venezuela under the "narco-terrorism" label.
