Jan. - The Minister of Popular Power for Culture, Ernesto Villegas Poljak, denounced this Tuesday, January 6, that the military aggression carried out by the United States against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela had a direct impact on the cultural sector.
The vile attack caused severe damage to the "José María España" Central Public Library, located in the state of La Guaira and declared a National Cultural Heritage site.
During an inspection of the premises, Villegas affirmed that the foreign armed action—which resulted in the kidnapping of the constitutional president Nicolás Maduro Moros—collaterally affected civil and cultural infrastructures of high symbolic and social value for the population of La Guaira.
According to him, the visit was made under precise instructions from the acting president of the Republic, Delcy Rodríguez Gómez, with the objective of preparing a technical report and activating a comprehensive rehabilitation plan for the space.
“We will respond to the aggression with more culture, more books, and better infrastructure, making this a space that exorcises violence and the violation of our sovereignty, and that is put at the service of peace and the liberation of our president Nicolás Maduro Moros,” expressed the Minister of Culture.
Villegas detailed that the shockwave caused by three missile impacts recorded near the library destroyed several areas of the establishment, frequently visited by children, youth, and adults from the community.
The damage included broken windows, roof impairments, and general deterioration of the infrastructure.
For her part, Melissa Pereira, coordinator of public libraries in the state of La Guaira, recounted the events that occurred in the early morning of Friday, January 3.
“The impact was very strong and directly affected our José María España Central Public Library, one of the most beloved in our state and a cultural heritage of the municipality,” she stated, describing the destruction caused by the explosion.
The attack also had consequences in the health sector. The Revolutionary Government reported that the U.S. bombardment of the Alfa 4 sector of the Port of La Guaira destroyed the central warehouse of supplies for the dialysis and nephrology program of the Venezuelan Institute of Social Security (IVSS), which compromises the care of at least 9,000 kidney patients throughout the country.
Everyone in Emergency and in the Streets
Organizations from the Venezuelan cultural sector jointly spoke out to reject foreign military aggression against the country and the kidnapping of the constitutional president Nicolás Maduro and the first lady, Cilia Flores.
The Organized Venezuelan Theatrical Movement and the Revolutionary Front of Craftswomen and Craftsmen of Venezuela (FRAV) released statements on Monday, January 5, reaffirming that national sovereignty does not allow negotiation and that culture constitutes a central space of defense against external intervention.
From the performing arts field, actors, directors, and playwrights warned about the historical consequences of foreign military actions and called on the intellectual and cultural community to sustain active resistance based on artistic creation and the preservation of collective memory as ways to safeguard national identity.
Meanwhile, representatives of the artisanal sector denounced the bombings recorded in various regions of Venezuelan territory and questioned the construction of media narratives aimed at legitimizing the aggression. In this context, they announced their continued assembly, reclaiming cultural production as a practice of political and social affirmation.
(With information from Alma Plus Online)
