 "Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro gestures while speaking during a press conference in Caracas, on Monday. AFP")
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Monday accused the United States of posing an “absolutely criminal, bloody threat” to his country, alleging that eight US warships armed with “1,200 missiles” and a submarine were targeting Venezuela.
Speaking at a press conference with international media in Caracas, AFP quoted Maduro as saying, “This is the greatest threat that has been seen on our continent in the last 100 years… eight military ships with 1,200 missiles and a submarine targeting Venezuela.”
The US government, which has long accused Maduro of heading a narco-trafficking regime, recently announced the deployment of naval assets to the southern Caribbean as part of an anti-drug trafficking operation.
Washington has not publicly confirmed any intent to target Venezuela militarily.
Maduro, whose controversial re-elections in 2018 and 2024 were rejected by the US and several other nations, declared that his government was fully prepared to respond.
“In response to maximum military pressure, we have declared maximum readiness to defend Venezuela,” he said.
The comments come amid rising tensions between Caracas and Washington, as the US continues to push for democratic reforms and free elections in Venezuela.
Washington has doubled the bounty for Maduro’s capture to $50 million but has made no public threat to invade Venezuela.
Caracas has said it would patrol its territorial waters and mobilise more than four million militia members in response to the US “threats.”
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More ShortsMaduro deplored that communications channels with the United States have broken down, and vowed his country “will never give in to blackmail nor threats of any kind.”
At the press conference, Maduro warned US President Donald Trump that his Secretary of State Marco Rubio wanted to “lead him into a bloodbath… with a massacre against the people of Venezuela.”
Reuters reported on August 28 that US warships have arrived in the southern Caribbean as part of a major naval buildup aimed at countering threats from Latin American drug cartels.
President Trump has made dismantling drug cartels a key priority of his administration, tying it to efforts to curb migration and secure the southern border.
While American Navy and Coast Guard vessels regularly patrol the region, officials say the current deployment is significantly larger than usual.
The Trump administration designated Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, and other drug groups as global terrorist organisations earlier this year.
Among the vessels deployed are the USS San Antonio, USS Iwo Jima, and USS Fort Lauderdale, carrying 4,500 personnel, including 2,200 Marines, according to sources cited by Reuters. The US military is also operating P-8 surveillance aircraft in international waters to gather intelligence.
Maduro has condemned the buildup, often accusing U.S. agencies, including the CIA, of conspiring with the Venezuelan opposition to destabilise his government — claims both the US and opposition leaders deny. Caracas has described US sanctions as an “economic war.”
With inputs from agencies