STORY: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro invoked Bobby McFerrin's 1988 hit song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" during a rally with supporters on Wednesday (December 10), calling for calm amid escalating tensions with the United States.

"To American citizens who are against the war, I respond with a very famous song: Don't worry, be happy," Maduro said, before singing along as the song played. "Not war, be happy. Not, not crazy war, not, be happy."

The gesture comes as relations between Caracas and Washington deteriorate over increased U.S. military presence in the Caribbean.

Maduro's musical performance took place on the same day that opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was due to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, in the presence of King Harald, in defiance of a decade-long travel ban imposed by Venezuelan authorities and after spending more than a year in hiding. She secretly left Venezuela to try to reach the Norwegian capital but was unable to arrive in time for the ceremony.

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VIDEO SHOWS: VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT, NICOLAS MADURO, SINGING BOBBY MCFERRIN'S SONG 'DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY'

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EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: Music not cleared for use, please check with the applicable collecting society or relevant rights holders in your territory regarding clearance of any sound recordings.

SHOWS: CARACAS, VENEZUELA (DECEMBER 10, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all. Music not cleared for use, please check with the applicable collecting society or relevant rights holders in your territory regarding clearance of any sound recordings.)

1. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT, NICOLAS MADURO, SAYING:

"To American citizens who are against the war, I respond with a very famous song: Don't worry, be happy. Don't worry, be happy. Lalalalalalala, Yes peace, no war. (THE SONG STARTS PLAYING) Peace and love."

2. MADURO SINGING AND SAYING "Not war, be happy. Not, not crazy war, not, be happy."