Caracas. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro stated during a press conference on Monday that what is happening between his country and the United States"is not tension, it is aggression across the board. It is judicial aggression when they criminalize us, it is political aggression with their daily threatening statements, it is diplomatic aggression, and it is an ongoing military aggression." He reiterated that U.S. warships are"aiming 1,200 missiles at Venezuela."

He stated that "everyone, in the United States and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, knows that the US military operation in the Caribbean is aimed at bringing about regime change in Venezuela." He added that the plan is to twist the arm of OPEC+ and seize the world's largest oil reserves.

Maduro revealed that"communications with the United States have been destroyed by them, by their bomb threats, deaths, and blackmail. That's not how we operate. Threats and blackmail will never work, and they know it. We've gone from a period of battered communications to a period of destroyed communications."

However, according to Maduro, the communication channels are not"at zero." A "minimal" line of communication is maintained with John McNamara, the US ambassador to Colombia designated to handle matters related to Venezuela. This channel basically functions to maintain the repatriation plan for migrants deported from the United States."That is a priority for us," he stated.

In his press conference, Maduro also referred to the incident that occurred last Friday night in the waters of the Venezuelan exclusive economic zone, when a fishing boat was intercepted and boarded by 18 marines who disembarked from the destroyer Jason Dunham, part of the fleet deployed by Washington in the southern Caribbean.

“It's an embarrassment to the international community and to the military honor of the United States armed forces. It's completely illogical, extravagant, and outlandish to send a missile destroyer with 380 high-level professionals to attack a tuna fishing vessel… What were they after? Who gave the order?” he said.

"Unfounded Report"

The president responded to statements made by his US counterpart, Donald Trump, that Venezuela is sending drugs and gang members to the northern country. Maduro insisted that both this statement and the fact that Washington's intention with its deployment in the Caribbean is to combat drugs are"false."

"If you say Venezuela sends that poison there, it's a lie! Venezuela doesn't produce a single hectare of coca leaves; there are no production laboratories here, and when we find them, we blow them up," he asserted.

The Bolivarian government rejected the State Department report that includes the country on a list of"major drug transit and production countries." Caracas stated that Washington is making "an imaginary and illegitimate self-appointment as the world's judge and policeman." It asserted that all the report's assertions are baseless and contradict official data from specialized international organizations.

The State Department report states that Maduro"leads one of the world's largest cocaine trafficking networks" and that Washington will continue to seek to bring him to justice and will also target "Venezuelan foreign terrorist organizations like Tren de Aragua."

US President Donald Trump claimed on his social media platform, Truth Social, that US military forces in the Caribbean had destroyed a second boat allegedly loaded with drugs that had left Venezuela bound for the United States. Three"male terrorists" were reportedly killed in the incident. Trump told reporters yesterday that there were not two such incidents (on September 2 and September 15), but three, although he did not offer further details.

As of press time, the Venezuelan government had not issued any comments regarding Trump's latest statements.

Rejection of US intervention

Maduro participated Tuesday night in the inauguration of the National Council for Sovereignty and Peace, a forum convened by the National Assembly that brought together representatives from all sectors of public life to express their desire for peace and their rejection of U.S. threats through a manifesto.

Present at the event were business leaders, unions, Chavista and opposition parties, the government, the scientific community, intellectuals and artists, military and police officers, governors, mayors, churches and religious groups, athletes, youth, and communities, among others.

During his speech, Maduro affirmed that Venezuela has established the broadest consensus currently in the country in the face of U.S. aggression.

"All polls show that between 93 and 95 percent of Venezuelans reject and repudiate the United States government's military threats against Venezuela," he stated.

He reiterated that there is a threat of war in the Caribbean against Venezuela and that the current national situation is rooted in"an imperial attempt by the United States to seize our wealth."

And he declared that the way to contain this threat, neutralize it, and fully defeat it lies in the unity of all sectors of Venezuela, above any differences.