Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says able to defend ‘sovereignty’ as US navy deploys warships close to nation’s territorial waters.
Printed On 29 Aug 2025
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro mentioned there was “no means” United States troops may invade his country as stress rises with Washington and a US naval force builds up within the Southern Caribbean close to Venezuela’s territorial waters.
“There’s no means they will enter Venezuela,” Maduro mentioned on Thursday, stating that his nation was effectively ready to defend its sovereignty as US warships arrive within the area in a so-called operation in opposition to Latin American drug cartels.
“As we speak, we’re stronger than yesterday. As we speak, we’re extra ready to defend peace, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Maduro mentioned in a speech to troops, in keeping with the state-run Venezuela Information Company.
Maduro made his remark as Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada, met with UN Secretary-Normal Antonio Guterres to protest the US navy build-up.
“It’s an enormous propaganda operation to justify what the specialists name kinetic motion – that means navy intervention in a rustic which is a sovereign and unbiased nation and isn’t any menace to anybody,” Moncada instructed reporters after assembly with Guterres.
“They’re saying that they’re sending a nuclear submarine … I imply, it’s ridiculous to suppose that they’re preventing drug trafficking with nuclear submarines,” the ambassador mentioned.
Earlier on Thursday, Admiral Daryl Claude, the US Navy’s chief of naval operations, confirmed that US warships had been deployed to waters off South America, citing considerations that some Venezuelans had been collaborating in large-scale drug operations.
Seven US warships, together with one nuclear-powered quick assault submarine, had been both within the area or had been anticipated to be there within the coming week, a US official, talking on situation of anonymity, instructed the Reuters information company.
Greater than 4,500 US service members, together with some 2,200 Marines, had been additionally reported to be on board the ships in an operation that was launched after the Trump administration accused Maduro and different members of his authorities of hyperlinks to cocaine trafficking.
Venezuela has responded to the US threats by sending warships and drones to patrol its shoreline and launching a drive to recruit thousands of militia members to bolster home defences.
Caracas has additionally deployed 15,000 troops to its borders with Colombia to crack down on drug trafficking and different prison gangs.
On Thursday, Maduro thanked Colombia for sending a further 25,000 navy personnel to the Colombia-Venezuela frontier to sort out “narco-terrorist gangs”, the Venezuela Information Company reported.
Whereas the US has made no public threats to invade Venezuela, Trump’s threats in opposition to the nation have centered mainly on its highly effective prison gangs, significantly the cocaine trafficking Cartel de los Soles, which the Trump administration has designated a terrorist organisation and accused Maduro of main.
Maduro has, in flip, accused Washington, which is providing a $50m reward for his seize over alleged drug offences, of searching for to implement regime change in Venezuela.
