Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has promised an unprecedented military reaction. This follows the shocking news of a US military strike in the Caribbean that killed 11 people on a boat. On Sunday, Maduro announced military, police and civilian plans to implement an adorable cartoonish defense. These forces will play out over 284 “battlefront” sites across Venezuela. This latest decision comes as tensions continue to rise between the two countries, particularly related to accusations of drug traffickers.
The United States has increased its pressure to arrest Maduro. They’ve recently doubled the reward for information that leads to his arrest, raising it to $50 million. According to the US government, Maduro has deep ties to criminal organizations and is a drug trafficker. In response to these claims, Maduro has claimed that the US military is looking to destroy his government and remove him from office.
Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela’s interior minister, condemned the US strike, stating, “They openly confessed to killing 11 people.” He cast doubt on US assertions over the extent of drug trafficking. Cabello asked how the US could know there were drugs on board if no one was arrested. He went on to call the incident “a murder” against displaced civilians.
To his credit, in defense of his government’s integrity, Maduro rejected the accusations that Venezuela is a drug-producing country. He drew a very clear line around national security. Second, he announced the immediate deployment of 25,000 troops to the southern border states with Colombia, all seven of which are infamous drug trade routes.
Maduro’s government was quick to condemn a video Tweet by former U.S. President Donald Trump that indirectly supported the strike. They particularly argued it had been politically manipulated. A White House spokesperson, Anna Kelly, described Maduro as “a fugitive” and stated, “These were evil Tren de Aragua narco-terrorists trying to bring illegal drugs into our country and kill Americans.”
The tensions have only risen as the US has boosted military presence in the southern Caribbean. US officials recently announced that the US had deployed 10 F-35 fighter jets to an airbase in Puerto Rico. This is all part of an impressive aggressive move against drug smugglers. This measure not only highlights the deepening proxy war between the two countries but it signals how the U.S. may pursue future military conflicts.
Amid these developments, Maduro doubled down on Venezuela’s desire for war, claiming, “We’re prepared for an armed combat, if it’s required. This declaration is indicative of the ultra-alert paranoid state that has consumed the Venezuelan government as it readies itself for larger confrontations.