The US military has deployed naval forces near Venezuelan waters under the pretext of blocking drug trafficking, which Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has called “the greatest threat witnessed in a century in the South American continent.”
Maduro criticized the US for allegedly targeting Venezuela with 1,200 missiles and stated that it is exerting military pressure aimed at regime change.
According to AFP, Reuters, and local Venezuelan media, President Maduro held a press conference in Caracas on the 1st (local time) and claimed that “eight US warships equipped with over 1,200 missiles, and even nuclear submarines, are targeting us,” describing it as “the bloodiest threat against South America in the past 100 years.”
Regarding the US’s position that troops were deployed in the Caribbean to combat drug cartels, Maduro countered, calling it an “absurd, unjust, immoral, completely criminal, and bloody threat.”
He also stated, “We will respond to threats at the highest level of defense posture,” emphasizing that “the US government is causing chaos against an entire country, but the Venezuelan people will not succumb to this.”
Previously, the Donald Trump administration designated local Venezuelan drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations” citing national security threats, and labeled President Maduro as the ‘head of a drug trafficking ring’, doubling the reward for information leading to his capture to $50 million (approximately 69.2 billion won).
Additionally, to combat drug cartels, the US decided to deploy a fleet comprising three Aegis destroyers, three amphibious assault ships, and a submarine near Caribbean waters.
The Maduro government has strongly opposed the US claims as entirely false, expanding its militia and advancing its naval vessels into its territorial waters.