Maduro vows to declare a ‘republic in arms’ if US forces in the Caribbean attack Venezuela

CARACAS Venezuela AP Venezuelan President Nicol s Maduro on Monday revealed he would constitutionally declare a republic in arms if the South American country were attacked by forces that the United States governing body has deployed to the Caribbean His comments during a news conference come as the U S governing body this week is set to boost its maritime force in the waters off Venezuela to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels The U S has not signaled any planned land incursion by the thousands of personnel being deployed Still Maduro s regime has responded by deploying troops along its coast and perimeter with neighboring Colombia as well as by urging Venezuelans to enlist in a civilian militia In the face of this maximum military pressure we have declared maximum preparedness for the defense of Venezuela Maduro mentioned of the deployment which he characterized as an extravagant unjustifiable immoral and absolutely criminal and bloody threat The U S Navy now has two Aegis guided-missile destroyers the USS Gravely and the USS Jason Dunham in the Caribbean as well as the destroyer USS Sampson and the cruiser USS Lake Erie in the waters off Latin America That military presence is set to expand Three amphibious assault ships a force that encompasses more than sailors and Marines would be entering the region this week a defense official explained The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to describe ongoing operations The deployment comes as President Donald Trump has pushed for using the military to thwart cartels he blames for the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into U S communities and for perpetuating violence in several U S cities On Monday Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yv n Gil citing a United Nations statement narrated his counterparts in various Latin American countries that the deployment of U S maritime forces is built on a false narrative as of cocaine produced in Colombia departs through the Pacific and traffickers attempt to move only of their product through Venezuela Landlocked Bolivia and Colombia with access to the Pacific and Caribbean are the world s top cocaine producers Gil added that the narrative threatens the entire region and an attack on Venezuela would really mean a complete destabilization of the region Let us this instant demand an end to this deployment which has no other reason than to threaten a sovereign people he added during a virtual meeting of members of the Population of Latin American and Caribbean States regional group Maduro also used his news conference to insist that he was the legitimate winner of last year s presidential poll But ample and credible evidence has shown the contrary prompting several countries including the U S to not recognize Maduro as Venezuela s president Maduro sworn in to a third six-year term in January added that his regime maintains two lines of communication with the Trump administration one with the State Department and another with Trump s envoy for special missions Richard Grenell He called Secretary of State Marco Rubio a warlord pushing for action in the Caribbean to topple Venezuela s leadership U S military action against Venezuela would stain Trump s hands with blood he mentioned