Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro deployed thousands of soldiers to protect strategic areas. He claims that this is a response to the US activities in the Caribbean.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said he had deployed thousands of soldiers along the coast of the Caribbean at a time of rising tension with the US and on the border with Colombia. TASR reports this according to Monday’s AFP report.
Maduro on Sunday evening late in social networks stated that he deployed 25,000 men and women from the spectacular Bolivar National Armed Forces “on the border with Colombia and on the northeastern coast where the largest oil refinery is located.
Target of the deployment of soldiers
The aim is to ensure “the protection of national sovereignty and the security of the country in the fight for peace” he said. Maduro immediately did not mention US President Donald Trump, who pointed out the need to fight the Venezuelan drug smugglers and ordered the greatest strengthening of naval forces in the Caribbean in recent years.
The American armed forces attacked a suspicious vessel in the Caribbean last week. 11 people died. Trump said the vessel belonged to the Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua, but provided little evidence to support this claim, writes AFP.
The White House chief threatened to shoot down Venezuelan military aircraft if they threaten US forces. This happened after the Caracas aircraft flies near the US Navy in international waters.
According to military sources, the Venezuelan armed forces have approximately 123,000 members. Maduro, however, claims that another 220,000 people have entered folk militias.
