Venezuela Deploys Warships, Drones against US Destroyers

By Staff, Agencies

Venezuela deployed warships and drones after the US positioned three destroyers to pressure President Nicolas Maduro.

In a video on social media, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino announced a “significant” drone deployment as well as naval patrols along its Caribbean coast, including “larger vessels further north in our territorial waters.”

The move follows rising tensions, with the US sending three destroyers and 4,000 Marines near Venezuela, citing anti-drug efforts.

According to an American source who spoke to AFP on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump was dispatching two additional ships to the Caribbean under the pretext of combating drug cartels.

A guided missile cruiser, the USS Erie, and a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, the USS Newport News, are due in the region next week, the source added.

Caracas and its allies call the patrols a direct threat to Venezuela’s sovereignty.

On Tuesday, Caracas petitioned the United Nations to intervene in the dispute by demanding “the immediate cessation of the US military deployment in the Caribbean.”

The Trump administration raised the bounty on Maduro to $50 million, accusing him of narco-trafficking—claims firmly rejected by Caracas.

Maduro has responded by mobilizing 4.5 million members of the Bolivarian Militia and ordering a 30-day suspension of drone flights nationwide, in order to thwart US threats of war against his country.

Venezuela and the US severed formal diplomatic relations in 2019 after the latter backed opposition leader Juan Guaido in the Latin American country’s presidential election.

Washington and its allies have imposed sanctions to force Maduro out and back the opposition leader as Venezuela’s “legitimate” president.

Maduro secured a third term after being declared winner of last year’s presidential election.