Illustrative image.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on August 28 that there was “no way” United States troops could invade his country.
The remarks came as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump continues to escalate against Venezuela over drug trafficking.
The U.S. designated Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua and a number of Mexican drug cartels as global terrorist organizations last February, and later doubled the reward for the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from to $50 million. Maduro is accused by the Trump administration of being “the world’s biggest drug trafficker”.
Earlier this month, the U.S. dispatched seven warships, along with a nuclear attack submarine, to Latin America and the Caribbean on a supposed counter-cartel mission. More than 4,500 US service members, including some 2,200 Marines, are reportedly aboard the ships.
The Venezuelan military has already announced a “significant” drone deployment as well as naval patrols along the country’s Caribbean coast.
At the same time, the country deployed 15,000 troops to the Zulia and Tachira states, which border Colombia, to bolster security and crackdown on drug traffickers.
“There’s no way they can enter Venezuela,” Maduro said in a speech to troops, according to the state-run Venezuela News Agency, stating that his country was well prepared to defend its sovereignty
“Today, we are stronger than yesterday. Today, we are more prepared to defend peace, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the president added.
Separately on August 28, Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada, met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to protest the U.S. naval deployment near the country’s coast.
“It’s a massive propaganda operation to justify what the experts call kinetic action – meaning military intervention in a country which is a sovereign and independent country and is no threat to anyone,” Moncada told reporters after meeting with Guterres.
“They are saying that they are sending a nuclear submarine … I mean, it’s ridiculous to think that they’re fighting drug trafficking with nuclear submarines,” the ambassador said.
In a statement responding to recent U.S. military moves near Venezuela, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow unequivocally rejects the use of force against sovereign states and expresses its solidarity with the Venezuelan people.
“Russia firmly opposes the threat of force as a tool of foreign policy and stands with the people and government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,” she stated, according to TASS. “Venezuela has an inalienable right to determine its political, economic, and social course freely, without external pressure, in a peaceful environment.”
Zakharova also recalled a telephone conversation on August 22 between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez Gomez.
In the call, Lavrov reaffirmed Russia’s full support for Venezuela’s efforts to protect its sovereignty and maintain institutional stability.
“We maintain close, direct, and trusting contacts with Venezuela, guided by our strategic partnership and taking into account the evolving situation,” the spokeswoman noted.
Russia has for long been a key defense partner of Venezuela. Most of the advanced weapons currently in service with the Venezuelan military, including air defense systems, heavy rocket launchers and multirole fighter jets, were supplied by Moscow.
The U.S. escalation is not surprising. The country did not recognize Maduro’s past two election victories. In addition, Trump even floated the idea of a military intervention in Venezuela during his first term.
Now, it is very clear that the U.S. military build-up near the oil-rich country is not about countering drug cartels. At minimum the Trump administration is attempting to pressure Maduro to achieve some political settlement, and at worst an invasion is being prepared.
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i support use of force vs 8 yr old boys in my burgerland pedophile trailer park
how many times uncle homer rent you to gay hillbillies when you were 8 yrs old?
economic sanctions are a crime against the rights of the all humans to buy and sell the products of their own labor: sanctions are immoral and unethical because they are fundamentally against creation itself and common law throughout history. against nature itself too, as all life must put in effort to survive: effort is work.
maduro is not only reducing his country to poverty, once one of the richest countries in the world thanks to us companies developing the oil fields, but he is waving a red flag in front of a bull. the us could take this commie punk out anytime, certainly doesn’t have to invade.
stupid americunt turd scum—feminized americunts sodomized by taliban cannot liberate portland from antifa
before chavez a few rich oligarchs installed by americunt scum–everybody else poor
“everybody else” was just indigenous subhumans and dumb working class peasants who don’t understand capitalism. chavez the commie tyrant robbed honest billionaire entrepeneurs to hand out their hard-earned money to poor lazy people.
inferior americunts dumber than cattle—feminized americunts only take out transgenders in your gay bars
of course a supporter of putinist puppet maduro like you is a raging homophobe.
fuck them trans lgbt weirdos and you as well.
muahahahahahaha hahahaha hahahaha haha 🇷🇺=🤡 😆😆😆
trump surely would love to sell stolen oil to bootlicking europeon vasals.
venezuela is deliberately being made poor by economic sanctions, which, ironically, were an old communist trick used to subordinate puppet governments. read my earlier comment and rethink what you are hearing because it’s more warmongering lies, as usual. anyone who believes the lying msm should go get another booster …
venezuela is far from alone. many nations seek its energy and minerals to provide property to its populations. soon america will be forever removed from sharing its wealth. yet long term stupidity is its corporate policy . decades of policy papers by such groups as rand corporation exist so anyone can research this for absolute proof.
this will become another vietnam and as an armed american i guarantee i’ll never be drafted and sent to murder people who i have no problem with. better to die in the country i love.
a us invasion certainly isn’t impossible. americans may be the most warlike people in the history of humankind. literally.
hell, they already tried a few years back. got totally destroyed, but…not for lack of effort.