WASHINGTON.- US President Donald Trumpassured that he had “only recently” spoken to his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduroalthough the conversation was not fruitful enough to ease tensions between both countries.
“I spoke to him recently, but nothing much came of it,” the president said in a press statement alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a bilateral meeting at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
Trump explained that a week ago, US forces attacked a port where suspected drugs were being loaded onto boats and that there was a “large explosion.” “We have attacked all ships and now we are attacking the area. It is the implementation area,” he emphasized, without providing further details.
Neither the White House nor the Department of Defense have yet confirmed the alleged attack, nor have they provided details about the site’s location or its role in drug trafficking in the region, although if confirmed, it could be the first direct attack on Venezuelan territory.
In this context the Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabelloissued this Monday a challenge to the United States government to ensure that the expansion of US military operations in the Caribbean does not destabilize the Caribbean country or mar the Christmas and New Year celebrations in Venezuela.
In an official statement broadcast on Venezuelan state television (VTV), Chavismo’s number two minimized pressure from Washington and portrayed the recent naval maneuvers as part of a campaign of “harassment and piracy.”
“They won’t make Christmas or New Year bitter for us; they can’t do that because we’ve endured so much!” Cabello said after denouncing what he called “27 weeks of imperial madness” by the United States naval and military operations in the southern Caribbean that began last August.
Cabello, considered Chavismo’s number two, linked the presence of North American troops to oil interception operations and financial persecution, ensuring that the White House seeks to subjugate governments that are not “submissive.”
The minister reiterated that the ruling party is pursuing a resistance strategy based on “keeping its feet on the ground” and ensuring that territorial control and political stability are maintained despite sanctions and foreign military surveillance around Venezuela.
DPA and AFP agencies
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