Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López. Photo: Presidential Press.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino questioned the deployment of destroyers by the United States in the Caribbean, stating that the real objective is not to combat drug trafficking but to attack Venezuela.
In an interview with Telesur on Wednesday, August 27, General Padrino remarked that the presence of US warships is disproportionate to combating drug trafficking, calling it an excessive use of military resources.
“It is as if I use my strategic artillery, which consists of rockets and grenades and ships and everything, to annihilate a gang of eight car thieves,” said the Venezuelan minister.
General Padrino explained that Venezuela maintains patrols in its territorial waters as a defensive measure and expressed concern about the deployment of three destroyers and 4,000 marines announced by Washington.
He pointed out that the initial US announcement dates back to August 15, but it was recently reinforced, even after the minister of Curaçao had declared that there would be no further deployments. This reinforces the perception that the operation seeks to pressure Venezuela, not to solve the problem of drug trafficking.
Padrino also criticized the ineffectiveness of US anti-drug policies, citing the case of Colombia, where seven US military bases and the presence of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) have not reduced the production of drugs.
“Look at their failure in Colombia, with seven military bases there, they have not been able to stop drug trafficking,” noted General Padrino. “Wherever the DEA goes, there are no effective results.” He emphasized that the solution requires serious social programs as opposed to disproportionate military deployments.
The recent deployment comes at a time of tension between Caracas and Washington. Venezuelan authorities are maintaining surveillance along the coastline, and the US government has not officially reacted to Padrino’s statements.
Centers to be set up for continued militia enlistment
Minister Padrino announced on Wednesday that more than 1,000 centers will be set up so that Venezuelans who were unable to enlist last weekend can do so this Friday, August 29, and Saturday, August 30.
In a message broadcast live from the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Caracas, he announced that President Nicolás Maduro had instructed that this new round of enlistment take place after the massive participation of the population last weekend to enlist in defense of the country and against imperialist aggression and extreme right-wing sectors.
Venezuela Denounces US Military Deployment in the Caribbean at United Nations
US interventionism
Earlier this month, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt declared that US President Donald Trump is willing to use “all elements of power” to prevent drugs from “flooding” the US.
In this context, the deployment of three ships with 4,000 soldiers near the Venezuelan coast was confirmed. The situation worsened after US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a US $50 million reward for information leading to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
Other US warships, including a missile cruiser and a nuclear submarine, are also expected to arrive in the region next week.
Amid this escalation, the Venezuelan government requested the support of United Nations Secretary General António Guterres.
At the end of July, the US added the fictitious Cartel of the Suns of Venezuela to its list of global terrorist organizations, which already includes other groups such as the Sinaloa Cartel, which actually exists although it is based in Mexico, and the now-defunct Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
President Maduro: Venezuela does not tolerate anyone’s supremacism
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro emphasized that Venezuela is a peaceful country whose sovereignty is currently threatened by the deployment of US military ships and a nuclear submarine near its waters, actions that violate the Treaty of Tlatelolco.
The Treaty of Tlatelolco (1967), the official name of which is the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, was signed in Mexico City on February 14, 1967, and established Latin America and the Caribbean as the first nuclear weapons-free zone in the world.
Given this scenario, the president underscored “the impressive support Venezuela is receiving in the face of this US threat” and emphasized that the nation’s diplomacy “is not the diplomacy of gunboats; instead it is the diplomacy left to us as a legacy by Commander Hugo Chávez, which is admired worldwide and represents the heart of a noble people.”
“Venezuela does not accept anyone’s supremacism and represents the dignity and courage of Bolívar,” Maduro emphasized.
(Telesur) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/SL
