Tensions Rise as US Deploys Warships Near Venezuela
Caracas/Washington — The United States has sent warships to international waters off Venezuela’s coast, supported by F-35 fighter jets deployed to Puerto Rico, in what Washington describes as an anti-drug operation.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez condemned the move, calling it “an undeclared war.” Speaking at a military exercise, he claimed that people—including those not involved in drug trafficking—have already been executed in the Caribbean Sea without the right to a defense.
His comments came hours before US President Donald Trump announced another military strike on a boat, saying three alleged “narcoterrorists” were killed, raising the total deaths in recent weeks to 17. Trump did not specify when the strike occurred, only noting it took place within the US Southern Command’s area of responsibility, covering Central and South America and the Caribbean.
The strikes have sparked debate over their legality, as drug trafficking is not a capital offense under US law. Washington has yet to provide clear evidence that the targeted vessels were actually carrying drugs.
Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab condemned the strikes, saying, “The use of missiles and nuclear weapons to murder defenseless fishermen on a small boat are crime against humanity that must be investigated by the UN.”
The US naval presence—its largest in the Caribbean in decades—has heightened fears of a potential attack on Venezuelan territory. In response, Venezuela launched three days of military exercises on its Caribbean island of La Orchila, near where the US intercepted a Venezuelan fishing vessel over the weekend.
‘Imperial Plan,’ Says Maduro
President Nicolas Maduro, whom the US does not recognize as legitimate, urged citizens to join militia training to “defend the homeland.” He announced on Thursday that troops will provide weapons training to residents of low-income neighborhoods.
Maduro, facing a $50 million US bounty over drug trafficking allegations, accused the Trump administration of planning an invasion. “This is an imperial plan for regime change, to impose a US puppet government… to come and steal our oil,” he said, vowing to exercise Venezuela’s “legitimate right to defend itself.”
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles, a former presidential candidate, rejected any US intervention, calling the solution political rather than military. He criticized the strikes as counterproductive and urged the release of nearly a thousand dissidents imprisoned under Maduro.
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