CARACAS, August 19 /TASS/. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has accused the United States of trying to install a puppet regime in the Bolivarian Republic in order to seize its natural resources.
"An imperial plan has been developed to change the regime in Venezuela to install a puppet government of the United States and steal our largest oil reserves in the world, the fourth largest gas reserves in the world, and the first gold reserves," the president said on the Venezolana de Television television channel.
Maduro said that for these purposes, the United States has concentrated warships and a nuclear submarine in the Caribbean and is making false accusations against Venezuela. He stressed that "the United Nations, the European Union, the World Customs Organization and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have already rejected accusations of Venezuela [of drug trafficking]." He said that even in "the United States, no one believes the lies that are being told about me and Venezuela." The president said that Washington would not achieve its goal and Venezuela would remain an "independent, free and peaceful country."
The head of State said that the National Bolivarian Armed Forces are conducting three-day maneuvers "Caribbean Sovereignty 200" in the territorial waters of Venezuela. "The peoples of the Caribbean and South America have the right to peace, and nothing should violate their sovereignty," Maduro stressed, expressing confidence that Venezuela has "a powerful state, a strong, consolidated, well-organized government, as well as a determined people, which guarantee victory in any circumstances."
Threats from the United States
The Venezuelan president has repeatedly said that the country is facing the most serious threat of invasion from the United States in the last 100 years. According to Reuters, on August 19, three US Navy destroyers were sent to the southern Caribbean, to the coast of Venezuela "to conduct operations against drug cartels." The United States also deployed a nuclear submarine, a missile cruiser, amphibious ships and 4,500 military personnel to the region.
On September 15, US President Donald Trump said three members of a drug cartel, allegedly from Venezuela, were eliminated in international waters. According to him, the strike was carried out at a time when drug terrorists from Venezuela were illegally transporting drugs to the United States. On September 2, the head of the Washington administration said the American army had eliminated 11 members of the Venezuelan drug cartel during an operation in international waters. According to Trump, Venezuela is taking insufficient measures to combat drug trafficking. Moreover, Washington accused Maduro of belonging to the Cartel de los Soles drug cartel, the existence of which Caracas categorically denies.