CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Monday that if a South American country is attacked by forces deployed in the Caribbean, the Republic would “constitutionally declare its republic with weapons.”
His comments at the press conference come when the US government is set to boost it this week Sea marine forces off the coast of Venezuela I’ll fight Threats from Latin American drug cartels. The United States has not informed of planned land invasions by thousands of staff deployed. Still, the Maduro government responded by deploying troops along the coast and border with adjacent Colombia, urging Venezuelans to enlist in the militia.
“In the face of this greatest military pressure, we have declared our greatest preparation for Venezuela’s defense,” Maduro said of the deployment.
Currently in the US Navy Two Nagis Guided Missile Destroyers – USS Gravity and USS Jason Dunham – USS Lake Erry, a cruiser in the Caribbean, in the destroyer USS Sampson and waters off the coast of Latin America. Its military presence is set to expand.
Three amphibious attack vessels, including more than 4,000 seafarers and the Marines, will enter the area this week, defense officials told The Associated Press about conditions of anonymity describing the ongoing business.
The deployment will be rolled out as President Donald Trump used the military to stop the cartel, denounce the flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs to the U.S. community and perpetuate violence in some U.S. cities.
On Monday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ivan Gill told counterparts of various Latin American countries, citing the UN report that the deployment of US maritime forces is built on a “fake story.” Bolivia and Colombia, inland, with access to the Pacific and Caribbean, are the world’s top cocaine producers.
Gill added that the story “threatening the entire region” and that the attack on Venezuela would “really mean a complete destabilization of the region.”
“Let’s demand that this development be put an end soon, for no reason other than to threaten the sovereign,” he added at a virtual meeting of members of community groups in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Maduro also used his press conference. He claims he is a legitimate winner Last year’s Presidential Election. but Enough and reliable evidence It has expressed its opposition, urging several countries, including the United States, to not recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s president.
Maduro took office in January for his third year, adding that his government is still in two lines of communication with the Trump administration. One with the State Department and the other with the Trump envoy for a special mission, Richard Grenell. He called Secretary of State Marco Rubio “Generals” seeking action in the Caribbean to defeat the Venezuelan government.
Since the presidential election in July 2024Venezuela’s political opposition has urged the United States and other countries to resign Maduro. Last month, its leader María Corina Machado thanked Trump and Rubio Ship deploymentdescribing the move as the “right approach” to the Venezuelan government, and she describes it as a “criminal corporation.”
However, Maduro warned on Monday that US military actions against Venezuela “defiled” Trump’s “hands with blood.”
“President Donald Trump, the pursuit of a change of administration is exhausted. It has failed as a policy around the world,” Maduro said. “You can’t pretend to impose a situation on Venezuela.”
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Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City. Associated Press Writer Konstantin Toropin from Washington contributed to this report.
