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The President of the United States left warnings to his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro, and does not rule out a land invasion of Venezuela by North American forces.
In an interview published this Tuesday, Donald Trump was asked how far he would be willing to go to remove Nicolás Maduro from power, which he has held since 2013, to which he responded: “Your days are numbered”.
Trump, however, did not want to confirm or rule out a ground intervention with American troops: “I don’t want to talk about it. Why would I talk about it with Politico, a publication that is so hostile to me?”
This Tuesday, two North American F-18 fighter jets flew over the waters of the Gulf of Venezuela for around 40 minutes, in a new gesture that contributes to increasing Washington’s pressure on the Chavista leader’s government.
Venezuelan authorities did not expressly refer to the incident, but reiterated throughout the day on Tuesday that the Caribbean country remains willing “to fight” in the event of aggression.
The US has maintained an important naval deployment for several weeks in the waters of the Caribbean Sea, close to the South American nation, seen by the Maduro Government as a threat with the aim of promoting regime change.
What do Venezuelans say?
The Venezuelan Defense Minister, Vladimir Padrino Lópezstated, this Tuesday, that the determination to fight for the country’s freedom is reinforced “with weapons”, guaranteeing that the Bolivarian National Armed Force responded “with dignity” to the “threats” from the USA and has a plan to respond to the “new and multifaceted military aggression of North American imperialism”.
In turn, the head of Venezuelan diplomacy, Yvan Gildefended a “revolutionary offensive” and the construction of a movement that can respond to “imperialism” and allies.
Also the President of Parliament, Jorge Rodriguezstated that, “with absolute certainty”, the Venezuela will defend itself and fight against possible military aggression, and assured that the USA wants “a war to devastate” the country.
Rodríguez reiterated this Tuesday that Venezuela will leave the International Criminal Court (ICC) due to the “vassalage” of its representatives, maintaining that the judges of that body “are not there to do justice or to defend rights” and accusing the court of saying “absolutely nothing” about the “threats and psychological warfare” against Venezuela by the US.
In an apparent sign of resilience, during a National Council for the Productive Economy, broadcast by the state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), Maduro assured on Tuesday that, even in the “context of the missiles launched against boats in the Caribbean, Venezuela continues to grow its production“.
The head of state also said that the Venezuelan gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow 9% in 2025, despite what he called a “permanent context of economic aggression”.
Venezuela has support from Iran
On the diplomatic level, Caracas announced this Tuesday that Madurou had a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkianfrom whoever received the support in the face of “hostile provocations” from the United States.
Pezeshkian, according to a statement from the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that all “hostile provocations” violate the principles of international law and constitute a “dangerous precedent” for the people of the world.
