“Yes to peace, yes to peace,” the authoritarian leader answered in English at a rally in Caracas when a CNN reporter asked him if he had a message for Trump.
He called on the people of the United States to stand up for peace. “No more endless wars. No more unjust wars. No more Libya. No more Afghanistan,” Maduro said.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon released photos of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford in the western Atlantic. On one of them, the largest warship in the world is accompanied by three other warships, along with a long-range bomber and several fighter planes above the formation.
Operation Southern Spear
On Thursday, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, who lately calls himself the “Secretary of War,” announced the start of Operation Southern Spear to combat drug trafficking in the region.
In recent weeks, US forces in the region have sunk around 20 ships suspected of drug smuggling, killing around 80 people.
Due to the buildup of strong military capabilities off the coast of Venezuela, there is speculation that the US government is targeting regime change in Caracas.
In addition, Trump confirmed that he authorized covert operations by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Venezuela.
Reaction from Moscow
Moscow, a close ally of Caracas, responded by calling on the government in Washington not to interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign states under the pretext of controlling the flow of narcotics.
“The situation is aggravated by the fact that the US authorities have not provided any evidence linking the targeted vessels and crews with illegal drug trafficking,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, according to the TASS agency.
(Vijesti.ba)
