CARACAS, Venezuela – Teh Venezuelan government has condemned the United States’ increased military presence in the Caribbean Sea as “an undeclared war,” following the destruction of three vessels allegedly involved in drug trafficking by U.S. forces. The warning came Friday, September 19, as Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced plans to deploy the country’s military to communities nationwide next Saturday to provide instruction in “arms management.”
According to U.S. President Donald Trump, the U.S.Navy has deployed eight ships and a submarine to the region and has destroyed three boats since the beginning of September, resulting in 14 fatalities.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino questioned the U.S. tactics, stating, ”You already see how people, being or not drug traffickers, have been executed in the Caribbean Sea, without the right to defense.With so much technology and so much power and not be able to intercept a vessel in the aquatic spaces of the Caribbean Sea.” He further criticized the lack of interception of the vessels before they were destroyed, repeating, “Adjected, without the right to defense.”
Venezuela initiated military exercises this week on the island of La Orchila, approximately 65 kilometers from the Venezuelan mainland, near the site of a recent eight-hour U.S. interception of a fishing vessel. State television broadcast images of the exercises, which included the launch of “Missiles of Class C-802 and C-M90” and rockets, according to Padrino.
The U.S. government accuses Maduro of leading a drug trafficking organization, known as the “soles cartel,” and has offered a $50 million reward for his capture.
Maduro alleges the U.S. deployment is part of a broader effort to instigate a “regime change” in Venezuela, aiming to control the country’s significant oil, gas, and gold reserves. Trump, however, has denied any plans for regime change, asserting the military operation is solely focused on combating drug trafficking.
Maduro revealed Thursday that troops from the Bolivarian National armed Forces will move to communities next Saturday to train in “arms management,” explaining, “The barracks, with their weapons, go to the communities, to place them, to review, to teach all those who enlisted, the neighbors, which is the management of the weapons system.”
