Maduro accused the Trump administration of seeking regime change in Venezuela
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Friday denounced the US deployment of three warships off his country’s coast as part of its efforts to combat drug trafficking, describing the operation as an illegal attempt to bring about regime change in Venezuela.
The Trump administration has increased pressure on Maduro by doubling the reward for his capture on drug trafficking charges to $50 million.
A US source confirmed, that three guided-missile destroyers were heading to international waters off the coast of Venezuela.
US media reported that 4,000 Marines were also likely to be deployed.
“What they are threatening to do to Venezuela…regime change, it is a military terrorist attack…immoral, criminal and illegal,” Maduro told lawmakers.
He added, “For Latin America and the Caribbean, it’s a matter of peace and international law… Anyone who commits an act of aggression against a Latin American country attacks all of its countries”.
In 2020, during Trump’s first term, a federal court indicted Maduro and high-ranking Venezuelan officials on several charges, including involvement in a “terrorism and drug” conspiracy.
The US Department of Justice accused Maduro of leading the Cartel of the Suns, a cocaine trafficking gang that shipped hundreds of tons of the drug to the United States over two decades, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in profits.
Washington doesn’t recognize the legitimacy of Maduro’s victory in the recent presidential elections.
Maduro announced this week that he would deploy 4.5 million militia members across Venezuela in response to US threats, calling for weekend marches to denounce Washington.
