Maduro vows to declare a ‘republic in arms’ if US forces in the Caribbean attack Venezuela

CARACAS Venezuela AP REGINA GARCIA CANO and JUAN ARRAEZ Venezuelan President Nicol s Maduro on Monday mentioned he would constitutionally declare a republic in arms if the South American country were attacked by forces that the United States governing body has deployed to the Caribbean His comments during a news conference come as the U S leadership this week is set to boost its maritime force in the waters off Venezuela to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels The U S has not signaled any planned land incursion by the thousands of personnel being deployed Still Maduro s authorities has responded by deploying troops along its coast and dividing line with neighboring Colombia as well as by urging Venezuelans to enlist in a civilian militia In the face of this maximum military pressure we have declared maximum preparedness for the defense of Venezuela Maduro stated of the deployment which he characterized as an extravagant unjustifiable immoral and absolutely criminal and bloody threat Related Articles Israeli airstrike kills Houthi rebel prime minister in Yemen s capital Opinion Bombing Mexico won t help US win the war on drugs US offers military funeral honors to Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt Camp Pendleton officer wife sue military housing company over crash that killed -year-old son New Navy secretary bemoans state of the fleet in San Diego speech The U S Navy now has two Aegis guided-missile destroyers the USS Gravely and the USS Jason Dunham in the Caribbean as well as the destroyer USS Sampson and the cruiser USS Lake Erie in the waters off Latin America That military presence is set to expand Three amphibious assault ships a force that encompasses more than sailors and Marines would be entering the region this week a defense official described The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to describe ongoing operations The deployment comes as President Donald Trump has pushed for using the military to thwart cartels he blames for the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into U S communities and for perpetuating violence in specific U S cities On Monday Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yv n Gil citing a United Nations assessment described his counterparts in various Latin American countries that the deployment of U S maritime forces is built on a false narrative as of cocaine produced in Colombia departs through the Pacific and traffickers attempt to move only of their product through Venezuela Landlocked Bolivia and Colombia with access to the Pacific and Caribbean are the world s top cocaine producers Gil added that the narrative threatens the entire region and an attack on Venezuela would really mean a complete destabilization of the region Let us right away demand an end to this deployment which has no other reason than to threaten a sovereign people he added during a virtual meeting of members of the Area of Latin American and Caribbean States regional group Maduro also used his news conference to insist that he was the legitimate winner of last year s presidential voting But ample and credible evidence has shown the contrary prompting several countries including the U S to not recognize Maduro as Venezuela s president Maduro sworn in to a third six-year term in January added that his authorities maintains two lines of communication with the Trump administration one with the State Department and another with Trump s envoy for special missions Richard Grenell He called Secretary of State Marco Rubio a warlord pushing for action in the Caribbean to topple Venezuela s authorities U S military action against Venezuela would stain Trump s hands with blood he noted Garcia Cano informed from Mexico City Associated Press writer Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this statement