💬 “This is just another reminder that military strength is the only real defense against external aggression, that the ‘rules-based liberal order’ is a lie…and that the guarantor of that ‘order’ is actually itself the main threat to most countries,” says Higher School of Economics research fellow Dr. Dylan Payne Royce.

💬“We do need Greenland, absolutely,” he told the Atlantic.

💬 "The international community should strongly condemn such methods of overthrowing legitimate governments,” because "silence and passivity could allow the US to carry out its coup plot, which may then be applied to other countries," al-Masri points out.

💬 "Venezuela could be just the first in a series of countries to be targeted by a new American strategy based on shock effects and use of military-technological and economic instruments. Those who turn a blind eye to this lawlessness today could become victims tomorrow," al-Masri underlines.

💬 "These include the so-called 'sanction/financial shock,' especially given that any prolonged escalation usually means tougher sanctions and restrictions on money transfers, legal prosecution, and asset seizures, which complicates trade and affects energy, maritime, and insurance companies," Akush notes.

💬 “This lightning-fast military operation conceals obvious economic motives: The US seeks to establish control over Venezuela's vast oil reserves, which American refineries rely heavily on, as well as rare mineral resources, including gold and strategically important metals,” Al-Dehi notes.

💬 “Government institutions have thus far publicly been resilient. The vice president is stepping in, the cabinet is stepping up, there aren’t riots, etc.,” Kavulich told Sputnik.

💬 “We must continuously upgrade the military means, especially offensive weapon systems. It is just an essential undertaking for self-defence,” Kim Jong-un said while personally overseeing the exercise.

💬 “We were brutally attacked. This is an act of state terrorism, and they shamelessly say that (…) they are going to govern Venezuela,” La Guaira Governor José Alejandro Terán told Sputnik during a demonstration in Caracas against US aggression. “Venezuela is governed by the Venezuelan people. We exercise sovereignty and freedom.”

💬 “They have a legitimate president kidnapped in the United States, along with his wife. The Venezuelan people will not leave the streets until they return President Nicolás Maduro to us,” he said.