Maduro Accuses U.S. of Fabricating Pretext for War Amidst Caribbean Military Buildup
Caracas, Venezuela – Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro vehemently denounced a recent surge in U.S. military activity in the Caribbean as a manufactured justification for war, speaking in a nationally broadcast address Friday. The accusation comes as the United States adds the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to an already escalating deployment of warships, fighter planes, and soldiers in the region.
While Washington states the operation targets drug trafficking, Maduro insists the true objective is regime change. “They are inventing a new eternal war, they promised that they would never get involved in a war again and they are inventing a war that we will avoid,” he stated.
Since September 2nd, U.S. forces have reportedly destroyed ten vessels suspected of involvement in drug trafficking, resulting in at least 43 fatalities. Maduro dismissed U.S.claims regarding Venezuela’s role in the drug trade as “an extravagant, vulgar, criminal and totally false report, already proven false.” He asserted that Venezuela is free of coca leaf and cocaine production, and is working to eliminate the “tiny 5% of drug trafficking that comes from Colombia.”
President donald Trump has indicated he is considering authorizing direct military strikes within Venezuela.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López echoed Maduro’s concerns, characterizing the U.S. deployment as “a military threat…against Venezuela, against the region, against Latin America, against the Caribbean.”