Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has firmly ruled out any possibility of a U.S. military invasion or regime change in his country, despite the recent deployment of American warships in the Caribbean.
Maduro declared that Venezuela is prepared to defend “peace, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity” against any external threat.
Addressing military officers, he insisted that “neither sanctions, nor blockades, nor psychological warfare” would weaken the nation’s resolve. He also claimed to have activated a “special plan” involving the mobilization of 4.5 million national guardsmen, a figure disputed by international experts.
Washington, which maintains that its naval presence is aimed at combating drug trafficking, accuses Maduro of heading the “Cártel de los Soles” and recently raised the reward for information leading to his capture to $50 million. U.S. military sources confirmed the presence of the missile destroyer USS Lake Erie in Panamanian waters, signaling heightened military activity in the region.
In response, Caracas announced the deployment of its navy and surveillance drones in Venezuelan territorial waters. At the same time, Venezuela’s UN ambassador, Samuel Moncada, sent a letter to Secretary-General António Guterres urging him to intervene and demand that Washington cease “hostile actions and threats” against his country.
During military drills broadcast on state television, Venezuelan army officers declared that the armed forces, as “revolutionaries,” would take their place “on the front lines” to defend the “homeland of Bolívar and Chávez” against what they described as “the most genocidal empire in the history of humanity.”
