Maduro Declares Emergency Amid US ’Aggression’

By Staff, Agencies

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared a state of emergency in response to what Caracas has labeled as escalating US aggression against Venezuela.

Earlier on Monday, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez revealed that Maduro had signed a decree granting him the ability to take action on matters of defense and national security should the United States "dare to attack our homeland."

The decree would allow Maduro to mobilize armed forces throughout the country and give the military authority over public services and the oil industry.

Maduro said that the Venezuelan people are "better prepared than ever are more confident, and have more tools to work against any situation that may arise."

The president said that its seems that a "third world war started with the scenario of NATO's threat to Russia, the massacre in Gaza, and the threat of Arab countries, Iran, Venezuela, and China."

The Venezuelan government has put its forces on high alert after the US deployed eight warships and a nuclear submarine near its coast, citing anti-drug operations.

Caracas, however, views the deployment as a provocation, particularly aimed at pressuring the Maduro government and forcing regime change.

In recent weeks, US forces have hit three vessels in the Caribbean, killing 14 people, citing drug operations without evidence. UN experts have warned the actions may amount to "extrajudicial executions."

Venezuelan Parliament Speaker Jorge Rodriguez warned of the dangerous consequences of any potential military escalation in the Caribbean region.

“In case brazen imperialism unleashes a state of war in the Caribbean, the consequences will be catastrophic for the entire American continent,” Rodriguez said during a meeting with the diplomatic corps accredited in Venezuela.

The parliament chief stressed that “the responsibility of defending this peace lies on all of us, and that we must defend it with action, initiative, and national unity.”

Speaking of Venezuela’s sovereignty, he underlined the “sacredness of the country’s land, sky, rivers, and seas,” saying, “We defend the entrance to our home, our sacred land, our sacred sky, our sacred rivers, and our sacred seas.”

Rodriguez stressed that the fight is about securing peace and a future for Venezuelan children, and firmly defending that right.

“Our Caribbean, our sea, our own sea—we must defend it as a region of peace, as a region free of acts of war,” he stressed.

The killing of 14 people on alleged drug boats has heightened tensions between Caracas and Washington. The US calls it anti-narcotics enforcement, while Venezuela condemns it as unlawful military aggression.

NBC reports, citing four unnamed sources, that US military planners are weighing expanding operations to targets inside Venezuela.

Rodriguez expressed confidence in the country’s readiness to resist. “Venezuela is united in the defense of our country,” she said. “We will never surrender our homeland.”