Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday said he “would constitutionally declare a republic in arms” if the South American country were attacked by forces that the United States government has deployed to the Caribbean.
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His comments during a news conference come as the US government this week is set to boost its maritime force in the waters off Venezuela to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels.
The US has not signalled any planned land incursion by the thousands of staff being deployed. Still, Maduro’s government has responded by deploying troops along its coast and border with neighbouring Colombia, as well as by urging Venezuelans to enlist in a civilian militia.
“In the face of this maximum military pressure, we have declared maximum preparedness for the defence of Venezuela,” Maduro said of the deployment. He characterised the US move as “an extravagant, unjustifiable, immoral and absolutely criminal and bloody threat”.
The US Navy now has two Aegis guided-missile destroyers – the USS Gravely and the USS Jason Dunham – in the Caribbean, as well as the destroyer USS Sampson and the cruiser USS Lake Erie in the waters off Latin America. That military presence is set to expand.
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Three amphibious assault ships – a force that encompasses more than 4,000 sailors and Marines – would be entering the region this week, a defence official told Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to describe continuing operations.
The deployment comes as US President Donald Trump has pushed for using the military to thwart cartels he blames for the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into US communities and for perpetuating violence in some US cities.