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In the ideological enemies' worst spat of Maduro's two-year
rule, President Barack Obama's government this month declared
the OPEC nation a "security threat" and sanctioned seven
officials accused of rights abuses and corruption.
Maduro, the 52-year-old socialist successor to Hugo Chavez, said
the March 9 measures would from 2016 be commemorated in
Venezuela with a new "Day of Bolivarian Anti-Imperialism," a
reference to independence hero Simon Bolivar.
"History will remember you, President Obama, as the one who
sought to intimidate a people, but instead arose their
nationalist, patriotic and Bolivarian spirit," Maduro said in a
weekly TV program, from the western city of Coro.
Buoyed by plenty of international support, especially from Latin
American neighbors, Maduro is leading a "house-by-house"
campaign to obtain 10 million signatures against the measures to
take to the upcoming Summit of the Americas in Panama.
Opponents say many Venezuelans are being coerced to sign,
especially in state institutions, and decry the move as a waste
of time intended to hide the nation's economic crisis and boost
the government's popularity ahead of parliamentary elections.
(Reporting by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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