The leader of the Venezuelan regime, Nicolás Maduro, announced this Wednesday, October 15, the launch of the defense plan in the states of Táchira, Apure and Amazonas, all bordering Colombia, amid growing tensions with the United States, whose government maintains a large military deployment in the Caribbean and has just authorized covert CIA operations in the Caribbean country.
The operations on the border with Colombia are part of Plan Independencia 200, a strategy announced by Maduro to prepare the nation for a possible military aggression from the United States. According to Diosdado Cabello, Minister of the Interior, the operation seeks to keep the country"functioning" while it prepares to defend itself.
The defense plan was already active in at least 11 regions, most of them areas with access to the Caribbean, and this Wednesday it also began to be developed in Caracas and in the state of Miranda, close to the Venezuelan capital.
The news of the launch of the so-called Comprehensive Defense Operational Zones (ZODI) on the border with Colombia was announced by Maduro in a contact with the Venezuelan Television channel (VTV).
In his speech, Maduro asserted that the defense zones allow the country to prepare and activate all its military, grassroots, and police forces.
"Venezuela belongs to the Venezuelan people, and we will continue to achieve peace, exercising our full sovereignty and defending the right to life and the joy of a people who are building their greatest possible happiness," the Chavista leader affirmed.
And he added:"We must increase all tasks in the days that are passing and those to come, all tasks of comprehensive preparation for defense. Increasing deployment and maximum preparation, with absolute confidence in the destiny of our country."
This Wednesday, Maduro also called on citizens, military personnel, and police to activate"the entire comprehensive defense force" to protect "mountains, coasts, schools, hospitals, factories, markets, and communities."
Donald Trump authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela.
Tensions between the United States and Venezuela are at their highest point since last August, when Washington ordered a military operation in the Caribbean, in order to curb drug trafficking, according to President Donald Trump.
The operation ordered by the White House off the coast of Venezuela includes warships, aircraft, and even a nuclear-powered submarine.
Maduro, however, maintains that this is a strategy with which the United States aims to provoke regime change and even seize Venezuelan resources such as oil.
Since the start of the operations, Washington has sunk at least six vessels believed to be carrying drugs, and this Wednesday, it raised the possibility of its country carrying out land-based attacks against drug trafficking groups.
Furthermore, the White House went further by confirming in recent hours that President Trump authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuelan territory.
President Trump asserted this Wednesday that the measure was authorized because Caracas has"emptied its prisons" to send prisoners to the United States and because of drug trafficking leaving Venezuelan territory to his country.
According to the New York Times, the CIA authorization would allow the agency to take covert action against Maduro and other regime officials, either unilaterally or in conjunction with a larger military operation.
