Venezuela Foreign Minister Yván Gil Pinto said on Monday that 4,200 American soldiers are “ready and prepared to invade” Venezuelan territory.
According to the EFE agency, the chancellor warned during a virtual emergency meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean community (Celac), convened by Colombia, which temporarily presides over the leftist profile group.
“The United States concentrated military active near the Venezuelan coast. We are talking about eight military ships we have, as far as we know, more than 1,200 missiles on board,” Gil said.
The White House reported that the operation, which has the sending of war ships and a fast attack submarine with nuclear propulsion to the south of the Caribbean Sea, aims to prevent drugs to arrive in the United States.
The Venezuelan chancellor argued that this US allegation – fighting drug trafficking – is an “excuse” and called “totally false story” the report about “an alleged cartel they called the Los Soles cartel.”
“Any conflict armed against Venezuela, using a false pretext such as drug trafficking, when we have already shown important achievements in this area, would actually mean a complete destabilization of the entire region,” said Gil.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in August that the United States is prepared to “use all US power” to bring “those responsible” for trafficking drugs to the country in a direct message to the Venezuelan dictator.
On the 7th, the US government doubled the amount it offers for information leading to Maduro’s arrest and conviction, raising the reward to $ 50 million.
At the time, Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro has links with Venezuelan gangs Tren de Aragua, Cartel de Los Soles (of which he would be leader, according to the US) and the Mexican Cartel de Sinaloa and that the Venezuela dictator is “one of the world’s largest drug traffickers.”
