STORY: Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday (December 28) praised the country’s military as “invincible warriors” and received a .50 caliber sniper rifle during a year-end salute to the Bolivarian National Armed Forces in La Guaira.

Maduro, flanked by top officials, said the military’s values of emancipation and humanism had been strengthened over 27 weeks of tensions with the United States.

The president claimed that 2025 had seen the consolidation of Venezuela’s national power, not in theory but “on the ground,” with popular and military forces united under his defense plan. He described the armed forces as prepared to defend sovereignty and territorial integrity.

According to Maduro, the ceremony at the Bolivarian Naval Military Academy celebrated the military’s role as “emancipators, not imperialists,” and marked the culmination of efforts to refound the nation’s values. The event comes amid ongoing tensions with the U.S. in the Caribbean.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: LA GUAIRA, VENEZUELA (DECEMBER 28, 2025) (VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT TV - Access all)

1. VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT, NICOLAS MADURO, WALKING ALONG WITH DEFENSE MINISTER, VLADIMIR PADRINO, FIRST LADY CILIA FLORES, AND VICE PRESIDENT DELCY RODRIGUEZ

2. VARIOUS OF MADURO, PADRINO, FLORES, AND RODRIGUEZ SINGING A HYMN AT A MILITARY ACADEMY

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

"Each hymn, each flag, each symbol represents a history of over 200 years because our military have a glorious history as emancipating, humanist, invincible warriors. They are not imperialist soldiers, they are not soldiers who go out to bomb towns, to kill people, to steal wealth."

4. VARIOUS OF MADURO RECEIVING A .50 CALIBER SNIPER RIFLE, USED BY THE BOLIVARIAN NATIONAL ARMED FORCES

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

"I believe these 27 weeks (since the conflict with the United States began) have crowned the effort to refound our values of Bolivar, Sucre, and Zamora, initiated by our commander Chavez. Today, our armed forces are more prepared than ever to continue winning peace, sovereignty, and territorial integrity for our people."

6. MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ARMED FORCES DURING THE SPEECH

7. MADURO TALKING TO SOLDIERS DURING CEREMONY

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

"And this is the message I want to send today, on this year-end salute: in 2025, the power of the Venezuelan nation has been consolidated. It has not been consolidated in a book, in theory, or in a speech; it has been consolidated on the ground. Popular power is now expanded and stronger than ever."

9. MADURO WITH MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ARMED FORCES, HOLDING A HISTORIC BANNER

10. MADURO WALKING ALONG WITH PADRINO, FLORES, AND RODRIGUEZ