Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is ready to declare a state of emergency over the threat of US “aggression”, following a spate of deadly US strikes on suspected Venezuelan drug boats, Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez said on Monday.
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Rodriguez told foreign diplomats that Maduro had signed a decree giving himself “special powers” as head of state to act in matters of defence and security in the event the United States “dares to attack our homeland”.
A government source, however, told Agence France-Presse that Maduro had not yet signed the document.
“The vice-president presented the document to show that everything was ready and that the president can decree it at any time,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The left-wing authoritarian Maduro placed Venezuela on high alert over a major US military deployment near his country’s coast.
US President Donald Trump has deployed eight warships and a nuclear-powered submarine to the southern Caribbean as part of a stated plan to combat drug trafficking, but which appears particularly aimed at pressuring Maduro.