The Minister of Defense of Venezuela, Vladimir Padrino López, warned this Friday that the United States “wants” and “intends” to wage “a war in Latin America and the Caribbean”, in moments of tension due to the US air-naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea, seen by Nicolás Maduro as a “threat” to promote a regime change in his country.
“The people of the United States must understand that their Government is an instrument for war. (…) They intend to wage war in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Padrino López, during an event for the 47th anniversary of the Comprehensive Aerospace Defense Command, broadcast by the state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).
In this context, he indicated that the United States also intends to “again return in sacks, in black bags and in ballot boxes to contributing citizens, young people of North American society.”
However, the military chief said that Venezuela continues to “cry out for peace,” although he stressed that the country remains “uplifted” and in “rebellion” against what he considered the “disastrous action” of “North American imperialism.”
You may be interested in: Nobel to Machado: a political challenge for both Chavismo and the Venezuelan opposition
“The people of the United States must listen to the cry for peace, for synderesis, the need to resolve conflicts through dialogue, politics and not through war,” Padrino López advocated.
The United States Government, which does not recognize Maduro’s legitimacy in Venezuela and accuses him of leading the Cartel of the Suns – an alleged group linked to drug trafficking – has deployed a military presence in the region since mid-year with the argument of combating drug trafficking, but which the Chavista leader interprets as an attempt to remove him from power.
For its part, Venezuela has been in permanent military mobilization for months throughout its territory in response to what it denounces as a “threat” of US invasion, in reference to the naval deployment, which is the largest in the history of the North American country since the first Persian Gulf War (1990-1991), according to a study by experts from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Despite this, Padrino López stressed this Friday that the United States “must know” that Venezuela is not going to surrender and considered this “a historical impossibility.”
With information from EFE.
Follow information about the world in our international section
