Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro stated that Caracas is ready to shift from a “political phase” to an “armed struggle phase” if the country faces a U.S. attack, amid rising tensions between the two nations.
اضافة اعلان
Maduro told the state-run network VTV on Friday: “We are currently in a political phase, but if Venezuela is attacked in any way, we will enter an armed struggle phase.”
He added: “The U.S. government must abandon its plan to violently change the regime in Venezuela and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean,” urging Washington to respect the “sovereignty, peace, and independence” of these nations.
U.S. media reports indicated that the Pentagon ordered the deployment of fighter jets to Puerto Rico. According to officials and sources, the deployment of 10 F-35 jets aims to assist in combating drug trafficking.
The Pentagon also reported on X (formerly Twitter) late Thursday that two Venezuelan military aircraft flew near a U.S. Navy ship in international waters, describing it as “a provocative move aimed at interfering with our counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism operations.”
The U.S. Department of Defense warned Venezuela against any further attempts to disrupt U.S. military operations against drug trafficking.
This comes days after the U.S. claimed it fired on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel from Venezuela in the Caribbean, killing 11 suspects. According to President Donald Trump, the strike targeted the Venezuelan drug cartel “Tren de Aragua,” classified by the U.S. government as a foreign terrorist organization.
