Nicolás Maduro has said loud and clear that he is prepared to accept any action from the Donald Trump administration. But this Thursday, August 28, he detailed what he has experienced from Caracas, following the string of announcements from the U.S. government pointing to an increased military presence in international waters near his country and sparking theories that a possible military intervention is imminent.
“After twenty continuous days of announcements, threats, psychological warfare; after twenty days of siege against the Venezuelan nation, today we are stronger than yesterday, today we are better prepared to defend peace, sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” Maduro said at an event with military personnel.
“No sanctions, no blockades, no psychological warfare, no siege,” he continued. “They haven’t been able to, nor will they be able to, there’s no way they can get into Venezuela.” Maduro called for enrollment campaigns for the Bolivarian Militia, a military component made up of civilians with a strong ideological focus, to confront the potential threat.
The United States announced the deployment of five warships and some 4,000 troops to the southern Caribbean, near Venezuelan territorial waters, for counter-drug maneuvers. The operation also coincides with Washington increasing the reward offered for Maduro's capture to $50 million and declaring an alleged cartel led by the Venezuelan leader a terrorist.
Christened Bolivarian by Chávez, the Venezuelan Armed Forces make no secret of their politicization."Chávez lives!" is their official greeting today.
"Hesitating is treason," read the emblems worn by some of the thousand troops who completed a "revolutionary special operations" course and presented a simulation to Maduro.
“Honor, sacrifice, honor, and revolution!” declared Colonel Ramos Salazar, the exercise's commander. “Today, my Commander-in-Chief, when we are besieged by the most genocidal empire in the history of humanity, the United States of America, [...] we revolutionary special operators place ourselves on the front lines of battle to defend the homeland of Bolívar and Chávez.”
The exercise took place on an open field, according to images from state television. Maduro also celebrated the security coordination with Colombia, after President Gustavo Petro ordered the militarization of the Catatumbo region (northeast) with 25,000 soldiers.
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He also highlighted that, amid the current situation, he has gained"more international support than ever before."
Its ambassador to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada, sent a letter to Secretary General Antonio Guterres in which he asked him to urge the United States government to"cease once and for all its hostile actions and threats, and respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of Venezuela."
The letter denounces "the most recent and dangerous developments in the United States Government's policy of continued harassment" against its country.
On the other hand, the White House, through its spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, once again referred to Nicolás Maduro amid the tension with Venezuela following the military deployment in the Caribbean Sea.
