Venezuela has deployed troops to its border and called for the enlistment of militia members and Venezuelans to confront a hypothetical foreign military incursion. This is its response to the deployment of ships, military contingents, and a nuclear submarine that the United States has deployed in recent weeks in the Caribbean in its fight against drug trafficking and cartels—which it has linked to members of the Venezuelan government. The maneuvers also coincide with the joint naval exercise, Unitas 2025, which will take place off the coast of the United States starting September 15, adding to the confusion."If Venezuela is attacked, we would declare armed struggle and a Republic in arms," President Nicolás Maduro warned Monday at a press conference with international media.
“Venezuela is facing the greatest threat our continent has seen in 100 years,” the head of state said. “There are eight warships, with 1,200 missiles, and a nuclear submarine aimed at Venezuela. It is an extravagant, immoral, and bloody threat. They have sought to advance to maximum military pressure, and we have declared maximum preparedness in Venezuela.”
Diplomatic relations between the United States and Venezuela have veered in less than a year from official visits and handshakes between Donald Trump's officials and Maduro at the Miraflores Palace, the presidential residence, to direct accusations from the Chavista leader of being part of a drug cartel, leading to an increase in the reward for his capture to $50 million. That organization is reportedly called the Cartel of the Suns.
“If you're looking for a mobster, look elsewhere. What you can look for here is a revolutionary who has a people and an Armed Forces backing him,” Maduro responded this Monday. “I'm not a magnate, I don't have a business or wealth, I'm a worker, a fighter, the first Chavista president in history. I'm not a bully; I know politics, political strategy, and now military strategy, focused on defending this homeland. I've learned a lot in the Bolivarian National Armed Forces, which are a highly trained force. Diplomacy is also based on truth, on words, and on doing what they say.”
Tensions have increased in recent days amid statements from Republican senators like Bernie Moreno, who have indicated that Maduro will not remain in power, aligning themselves with the messages of underground opposition leader María Corina Machado, who is pushing for a political transition in Venezuela."We will not give in to blackmail or threats of any kind. What has been mounted against Venezuela is a mess against an entire country, having failed all forms of hybrid warfare and maximum pressure, comparable only to the October 1962 missile crisis against Cuba. A situation of this nature is unheard of on our continent. It has never been seen before. We are seeing how the Miami mafia has taken political power in the White House and the State Department."
Maduro asserted that communication channels with the United States are "battered," but not cut off, particularly with Chargé d'Affaires John McNamara and Special Envoy Richard Grennel, with whom the exchange of American prisoners for deported Venezuelan migrants has been negotiated. But he focused his criticism on Secretary of State Marco Rubio, not Trump.
"The channels of communication with the United States are battered because gunboat diplomacy is erratic," the president said."Mr. Trump, watch yourself, because Marco Rubio wants to stain your hands with Latin American blood, with a massacre and a war against South America and the Caribbean, they want to stain Trump's hands with blood. He is an intelligent man, he will know what he is doing." He asked that the channels resume dialogue."With words and respect, everything is possible. Under maximum pressure, maximum preparation and rebellion."
At an extraordinary meeting of foreign ministers from the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Community (CELAC), Venezuela has requested the withdrawal of US military assets from offshore operations in the Atlantic Ocean. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil has said that the fight against drug trafficking is being used as a pretext to destabilize the region. This diplomatic pressure comes on top of Maduro's calls for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to intervene to ease tensions in the region.
