Haley joins protesters in NY, calling for Maduro ouster

US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, has called for the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro only a day after US President Donald Trump threatened to take strong action against Venezuela.

In an unexpected move by a senior diplomat, Haley took up a megaphone and addressed anti-Maduro protesters outside UN headquarters in New York on Thursday.

“We are going to fight for Venezuela and we are going to continue doing it until Maduro is gone!" she shouted from the megaphone. “We need your voices to be loud, and I will tell you, the US voice is going to be loud.”

A group of demonstrators gathered in a sealed-off plaza outside the United Nations, holding up banners including "SOS Venezuela" and chanted "What do we want? Freedom!"

This was after Venezuelan president showed up unexpectedly at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday to "defend his country," though he said earlier that he would skip the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly gathering for the fears for his personal safety.

During his speech, Maduro rejected US interventionism in the Latin American country, saying Washington opposes Venezuelan independence and determined to stop it at all costs.

He said the US wants to continue giving orders to the world as though the world were its own property.

The Venezuelan president also condemned the “illegal unilateral sanctions.”

On Tuesday, the Trump administration imposed financial sanctions on four members of Maduro’s inner circle, including his wife and Venezuela’s vice president, over allegations of corruption.

Maduro also referred to the assassination attempt against him in August, during which two drones laden with explosives went off as he was speaking at a military parade in the capital Caracas. He said the perpetrators had links to US allies.

Trump said on the sidelines of the assembly on Tuesday that his administration was “looking very strong at Venezuela,” adding that “all options are on the table, every one.”

In his address to the assembly, the US president said a military coup could topple Maduro, describing his government as “a repressive regime responsible for a human tragedy.”

Earlier his month, The New York Times reported that the Trump administration held secret meetings with some military officers from Venezuela to discuss their plans to oust Maduro, several months ago.

The US and Venezuela have had strained ties for years. They have not exchanged ambassadors for some eight years. Since Trump took office in January 2017, pressure has even been increased on Venezuela, which has been battling with political and economic crises in recent years.

Caracas has accused the United States for being behind the ailing economy, saying Washington is plotting to hobble Venezuela’s economy and topple its socialist government.

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