Maduro Threatens Armed Resistance as U.S. Expands Naval Deployment in Caribbean

by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Washington D.C. Bureau Staff

CARACAS (Worthy News) – Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro warned Monday that he would “constitutionally declare a republic in arms” if U.S. forces launched an attack, as Washington bolsters its naval presence in the Caribbean to counter Latin American drug cartels.

Speaking at a press conference, Maduro denounced the U.S. deployment as “an extravagant, unjustifiable, immoral and absolutely criminal and bloody threat,” and announced that Venezuela had moved troops to its coast and the Colombian border while urging civilians to enlist in militia ranks.

The United States has significantly expanded its maritime presence in the region, with two Aegis guided-missile destroyers — USS Gravely and USS Jason Dunham — already patrolling Caribbean waters. They are joined by the destroyer USS Sampson and the cruiser USS Lake Erie, which crossed the Panama Canal into the Caribbean on Friday. U.S. defense officials confirmed that three amphibious assault ships carrying more than 4,000 sailors and Marines will enter the area this week as part of the operation.

President Donald Trump has pushed for the use of U.S. military assets to combat cartels accused of flooding American communities with fentanyl and other illicit drugs. Washington maintains that the naval buildup is aimed at disrupting transnational crime, not preparing for a ground invasion.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil rejected that claim, citing a United Nations report showing that 87 percent of Colombian cocaine is shipped through the Pacific, while only about 5 percent transits Venezuela. He warned fellow Latin American governments that an attack on Venezuela would risk “complete destabilization of the region.”

“Let us immediately demand an end to this deployment, which has no other reason than to threaten a sovereign people,” Gil said in a virtual meeting with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.

Maduro, whose disputed reelection last year has been rejected by the U.S. and many other countries, claimed he maintains communication channels with Washington through the State Department and special envoy Richard Grenell. He accused Secretary of State Marco Rubio of acting as a “warlord” and warned that any U.S. action would “stain Trump’s hands with blood.”

The latest escalation underscores rising tensions between Washington and Caracas, as the Trump administration intensifies its campaign against drug cartels and Maduro seeks to rally domestic support by portraying Venezuela as under foreign threat.

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