国际英语新闻:Venezuela's Maduro, defying U.S. sanctions, says elections will go ahead

CARACAS, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro sent a message to his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, on Thursday, in which he reiterated that the July 30 elections for the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) will go ahead as planned.

"On Sunday July 30, the Constituent will go ahead," said Maduro during the closure of the campaign for the ANC in downtown Caracas.

In front of thousands of supporters, the president vowed that at dawn on July 30, "the people will sing the song of victory, the song of the liberators, 'Gloria al bravo pueblo' (Glory to the brave people, Venezuela's national anthem)."

This speech came a day after the U.S. passed sanctions on 13 top Venezuelan officials, in protest of the ANC, which Washington sees as a power grab by the Maduro government.

In response, the Venezuelan leader dismissed Trump as wanting to be an "emperor" by "ordering we suspend the Constituent."

However, the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) has dismissed the ANC as fraudulent and unconstitutional, arguing that the government did not hold a popular consultation before announcing it.

Maduro also took aim at the governments of Colombia and Mexico, who have followed Washington's lead and pressured Venezuela to drop the ANC.

He said the ANC elections will be held on Sunday, despite these warnings and in defiance of the U.S. sanctions.