Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday pleaded against a “crazy war” as an escalating US military campaign sent tensions soaring.
Maduro’s comment came after US President Donald Trump said he had authorized covert action against the South American nation amid a military campaign targeting what Washington says are drug traffickers in the Caribbean and Pacific.
“Yes, peace, yes peace forever, peace forever. No crazy war, please,” Maduro said in English in a meeting with unions aligned with the leftist leader.
Photo: Reuters
The US has deployed stealth warplanes and navy ships as part of what it calls anti-narcotics efforts, but has yet to release evidence that its targets — eight boats and a semi-submersible — were smuggling drugs.
The US strikes, which began on Sept. 2, have killed at least 37 people, data compiled by The Associated Press based on US figures showed.
Regional tensions have flared as a result of the campaign, with Maduro saying that Washington is seeking regime change.
Late on Thursday, the government in Trinidad and Tobago — located just off Venezuela’s coast — announced that a US warship would dock in its capital from tomorrow to Thursday.
The Trinidadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a unit of the US Marines would conduct joint exercises with its defense forces.
Two of those killed in the US strikes were from Trinidad and Tobago.
“We know the CIA is present” in Venezuela, the country’s Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino Lopez said on Thursday. “They may deploy, I don’t know how many, CIA-affiliated units in covert operations... and any attempt will fail.”
Padrino was overseeing military exercises along Venezuela’s coast in response to the US military deployment in the Caribbean.
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