A sea of red shirts flowed through Caracas on Monday.<br /><br /> Thousands took to the streets in a show of strength for their president Nicolas Maduro who slammed US sanctions imposed over the alleged repression of opposition protests.<br /><br /> The US president plans to sign the sanctions denying visas and freezing the assets of Venezuelan officials accused of repressing anti-Maduro protests earlier this year.<br /><br /> Channeling the rhetoric of his predecessor Hugo Chavez, he said:<br /><br /> “I think we need to gather signatures and send them to them with a photo of a U.S. visa so they can shove their US visas where they should be shoved. Arrogant Yankee imperialists.”<br /><br /> He also blasted ex-Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar as a ‘murderer’, citing Spain’s support under his leadership for the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.<br /><br /> Nicolas Maduro replaced the late leader Hugo Chavez in 2013. His popularity has waned amid a deep recession. It appears the threat of sanctions might have thrown him a lifeline.
