CARACAS, September 15. /TASS/. Venezuela has been living under the threat of US aggression for five weeks, President Nicolas Maduro said.
"They have been threatening us with destroyers carrying 1,200 missiles and a nuclear submarine for five weeks," he told a news conference aired by Venezolana de Television.
Venezuela, in his words, "is fully realizing its legitimate right to self-defense" in a situation when eight US warships and a nuclear submarine are deployed in the vicinity of its coast in the Caribbean. In this context, he called for convening an international conference on peace in the Caribbean region.
He condemned the eight-hour detention of a Venezuelan fishing boat by the US Navy in Venezuela’s exclusive economic zone. "This act of aggression by American mariners is a shame for the international community and the dignity of the American armed forces," he emphasized.
According to Maduro, all contacts with the United States have been severed. "The US’ military operation is geared to destabilize Venezuela and change the regime there" with an eye of seizing natural resources, including oil, gas, and gold. But Venezuela has managed to ramp up its defense capacities and will "never be an oil colony," he pledged.
On August 19, three US Navy destroyers — the USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham, and USS Sampson — were dispatched to the southern Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela to conduct "operations against drug cartels." There were also reports of the deployment of the nuclear submarine USS Newport News, the missile cruiser USS Lake Erie, amphibious ships, and 4,500 military personnel. Maduro views the US naval buildup off Venezuelan coast as "the biggest threat" in 100 years to his republic.