Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro says the US government is “fabricating” a war against Venezuela as Washington sends the world’s largest warship toward the South American country.
This signals a significant expansion of the US military presence in the region amid speculation of an attempt to overthrow the Venezuelan government.
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Maduro said on national television Friday night that US President Donald Trump’s administration was “fabricating a new forever war” as the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, which can carry up to 90 planes and attack helicopters, approached Venezuela.
President Trump has accused him, without providing evidence, of being the leader of the organized crime group Torren de Aragua.
“They are fabricating an extravagant story, a story that is vile, criminal and completely false,” President Maduro added. “Venezuela is a country that does not produce cocaine leaves.”
Torren de Aragua, which traces its roots to Venezuelan prisons, is known for its involvement in contract killings, extortion, and smuggling, not for its major role in global drug trafficking.
Maduro is widely accused of stealing last year’s election in Venezuela, and countries including the United States have called for him to step down.
Tensions in the region are rising, with President Trump authorizing CIA operations in Venezuela and saying he is considering ground strikes against suspected drug cartels in the Caribbean country.
Since September 2, the U.S. military has bombed 10 boats for involvement in drug trafficking to the United States, eight of them in the Caribbean. At least 43 people were killed in the attack.
United Nations officials and international legal scholars said the attack was in clear violation of U.S. and international law and amounted to an extrajudicial execution.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López said on Saturday that the country was conducting military exercises to protect its coast from any possible “covert operations.”
“We are conducting coastal defense exercises that began 72 hours ago to protect not only from large-scale military threats, but also from drug trafficking, terrorist threats and covert operations aimed at domestic destabilization,” Padrino said.
Venezuelan state television showed footage of military personnel deployed in nine coastal states and members of Maduro’s civilian militia carrying Russian-made Igla-S shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles.
“The CIA is present not only in Venezuela but everywhere in the world,” Padrino said. “They may send in countless CIA-related units from anywhere in the country on covert operations, but any attempt will fail.”
Since August, Washington has deployed a fleet of eight U.S. Navy ships, 10 F-35 fighter jets and a nuclear submarine in anti-drug operations, which Caracas claims are masking a plan to overthrow the Venezuelan government.
President Maduro announced on Saturday that he had begun legal proceedings to strip opposition politician Leopoldo López of his citizenship and revoke his passport, accusing him of orchestrating the invasion.
Lopez, a prominent Venezuelan opposition figure who has lived in exile in Spain since 2020, has publicly voiced support for the deployment of U.S. ships in the Caribbean and attacks on suspected drug-trafficking vessels.
Opposition leaders reacted on the X account, dismissing the move on the grounds that “according to the constitution, Venezuelans born in Venezuela cannot be deprived of their nationality.” He reiterated his support for U.S. military deployment and military action in the country.
Lopez spent more than three years in military prison after participating in anti-government protests in 2014. He was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison for “inciting a crime and conspiracy.”
He was then granted house arrest and left the country in 2020 after being released by a group of military personnel during Venezuela’s political crisis.
Meanwhile, the United States has also set its sights on Colombia’s leadership.
The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions against Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his family, and Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti.
Friday’s decision marked a significant escalation in the ongoing feud between left-wing Petro and his American counterpart, right-wing Trump.
In a statement, the U.S. Treasury Department accused Petro of failing to rein in Colombia’s cocaine industry and allowing criminal groups to escape accountability.
The Treasury Department cited Petro’s “complete peace” plan. The plan aims to end Colombia’s 60-year-old internal conflict through negotiations with armed rebel groups and criminal organizations.
Mr. Petro, a prolific user of social media, quickly countered that the Treasury Department’s decision was the culmination of years of Republican threats from critics of the presidency, including Sen. Bernie Moreno.
