Illustrative image. (Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela)
Venezuela is ready for “any attack” from the United States, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said on August 31, as tensions escalate over Washington’s naval deployment in the Caribbean..
“We will fight if you dare to set foot in Venezuela,” Padrino Lopez warned the U.S. in a statement released by state-run media.
The minister added that Venezuela is under a siege that aims to provoke internal chaos and undermine the nation’s political leadership.
“The announcement of these naval deployments in Caribbean waters is nothing more than a show of force, a way of marking territory, so that other powers will not take control of the Caribbean Sea,” he said.
The U.S. dispatched a large naval force to Latin America and the Caribbean on a counter-cartel mission earlier this month after doubling the reward for the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to $50 million on drug trafficking charges.
The force includes seven warships, along with a nuclear attack submarine. More than 4,500 US service members, including some 2,200 Marines, are reported to be aboard the ships.
According to Padrino Lopez, the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela is patrolling the country’s maritime borders and airspace in response to President Nicolas Maduro’s call to strengthen the Bolivarian National Militia.
Padrino Lopez also highlights the military’s ongoing efforts to crackdown on drug traffickers. According to the minister, 15,000 troops have been deployed to Venezuela’s western region and over 30 criminal outposts and illegal boat-building facilities linked to the illicit trade have been already destroyed.
The Bolivarian militia, founded by Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chavez, is reported to contain about five people. Meanwhile, the military, which possesses some serious anti-aircraft and anti-ship capabilities, has over 100,000 active duty troops.
While the Trump administration maintains that the naval deployment near Venezuela is a counter-cartel mission, close advisors to the president himself suspect that what is unfolding is a drug trafficking operation with undertones of regime change in Caracas, according to a recent Axios report.
Outside the administration, some in Washington are more vocal about what they really want to see happening in Venezuela.
Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn posted a message to the X social network on September 1, openly calling to “Make Venezuela Great Again” by capturing cartel leaders and freeing citizens from “the tyrannical rule of Maduro.”
All in all, Venezuela, which has the world’s largest oil reserve, appears to be preparing for the worst. A direct attack by the U.S. remains highly unlikely. However, the naval deployment itself could be just a part of a more elaborate coup plot in Caracas.
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ussa is joke of the world. they do not even do regime changes like they used to
i root for all nations that americans were indoctrinated to hate! go venezuela viva maduro and to hell with trump.
get rid of aipac.
maduro gave trump a reason by sending tren de aragua drug gangsters to america. the homegrown thug in this case is no better than the usual american puppet. the oil money would never make it’s way to the people in either case. the cia is off protecting israel instead of america.
the cia doesn’t ‘protect’ america, it protects’s america’s money men like rockefeller, soros and koch. you should read ‘cia diary’ by philip agee to see how america has been sabotaging south american nations since it was founded after ww2.
cia mainly serves 1 purposes—convinces dumb americunts that their ugly dystopia totalitarian oligarchy is as good as civilized zimbabwe
many us military ships are reported passing through the panama canal to the caribbean. the pirate banker mafia cult can not realize its obvious blatant stupidity. a cartel that suffers from absolute ignorance of reality. good bye usa ! except in history books.