An analyst says the United States is seeking to wage an “economic war” against Venezuela in an attempt to take control of its gold and oil reserves.

“They [the Americans] are after our resources, but we are not their colony. We are a sovereign country, and an independent country. We believe in the people, in their work, in the solidarity of the people, in what people can give, in their education. We are a great country but the empire is trying to take away what we have and we are going to fight for it,” Egle Sanchez, the president of the Venezuelan Graphic Workers Federation, told Press TV’s Face to Face program.

“We want other powerful countries such as the United Sates to understand that we are not just their backyard lackey that needs to be controlled … We are a region of resistance, especially Venezuela, that has decided to be free. So, we are no one’s colony and we want to be allowed to govern ourselves and we want to be left in peace because we, the Venezuelan people, … will not give away our resources, our oil, our gold, our dignity, our thousands of minerals and our gas to the North Americans,” she said.