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Maduro Orders Military Drills in Venezuelan Slums After US Attacks Boat

Estadão

Brazil

Wednesday, October 15


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Venezuelan Government Response and Condemnation

Broader US Military Considerations


Maduro's response to Trump's military threats

5:54

The dictator of Venezuela , Nicolás Maduro , ordered military exercises in the country's largest communities this Wednesday, 15, in response to the sending of United States ships to the Caribbean , which Chavismo denounces as a threat to regional peace.

"We will activate the entire military force for integral, popular, military and police defense, activated and united," Maduro said in an audio recording on Telegram.

State television showed images of armored vehicles deployed since dawn in Petare, one of Venezuela's largest slums, located near Caracas.

Wednesday's mobilization covers the capital and the neighboring state of Miranda, where around 7 million people live.

Maduro stated that the mobilization seeks to “defend mountains, coasts, schools, hospitals, factories, markets” and communities “to continue achieving peace.”

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said the US attacks “are aimed solely at robbing Venezuela of its immense natural resources.”

Cabello indicated that the mobilization exercises are part of a “permanent offensive” against the “siege” and “aggression” of the United States.

On Tuesday, Trump reported that his country's military forces destroyed another speedboat carrying"six narco-terrorists."

At least five small boats have been bombed since September 2, leaving 27 dead. Caracas denounces these actions as"extrajudicial executions."

Pressure from Rubio and Trump

While the United States has targeted what it calls drug vessels, the curtailment of diplomacy, the military buildup near Venezuela, and the increasingly strident threats against Maduro from Trump administration officials have led many in both countries to believe that the Trump administration's real goal is Maduro's removal.

US Army, the probability of an attack “is 50%” .

Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, has been a leading voice in the administration's push to oust Maduro. He has called Maduro an illegitimate leader who is a"fugitive from American justice" and has been skeptical of the diplomatic approach led by U.S. Special Envoy Richard Grenell.

Diplomacy advocates acknowledge that Rubio's hardline approach has prevailed thus far. But they believe diplomatic efforts could eventually bear fruit, pointing to Trump's sudden reversals on other key foreign policy issues, such as the war in Ukraine, trade with China, and Iran's nuclear program.

Officially, the Venezuelan dictatorship responded to Trump's military escalation with defiance and promises to defend what it calls the"socialist revolution" initiated in the 1990s by Hugo Chávez, Maduro's predecessor and mentor. At the same time, Maduro has said he remains open to negotiations, and his government continues to accept deportation flights from the United States.

Behind the scenes, however, senior Venezuelan officials, with Maduro’s blessing, have offered Washington far-reaching concessions that would essentially eliminate the vestiges of resource nationalism at the heart of Chávez’s movement.

While Grenell and Venezuelan officials made progress on economic issues, they failed to agree on Maduro's political future, according to people close to the negotiations. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil said in an interview last month that Maduro would not negotiate his departure.

Maduro has repeatedly repressed democratic challenges to his rule since taking office in 2013. He held on to power last year after losing a presidential election by manipulating the results and brutally suppressing protests. / AFP and NYT

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