CARACAS — Nicolas Maduro on Friday recommended that members of his regime and supporters not accept electronic equipment as Christmas gifts, in light of the explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon that left dozens dead.
“Do not accept electronic gifts (…) be careful with telephones, cell phones, be careful everyone,” said the Chavista dictator during an event in Caracas broadcast on mandatory radio and television.
Maduro, who “decreed” the start of Christmas on October 1, also asked that “in all ministries, institutes and state companies” priority be given to the purchase of “handicrafts and toys made in Venezuela” for the exchange of gifts during “Venezuelan Christmas.”
His request comes amid a political crisis triggered by his fraudulent re-election for a third consecutive six-year term (2025-2031) that the opposition continues to denounce, claiming the victory of its candidate, former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia, who has been in asylum in Spain since September 8.
Two waves of beeper and walkie-talkie explosions between Tuesday and Wednesday left 37 people dead and some 3,000 wounded in a bid to target members of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group.
Israeli security forces remotely detonated hundreds of electronic devices used by Hezbollah members to communicate.
Maduro is an ally of Iran and Hezbollah.
