CARACAS, November 13. /TASS/. The United States has unleashed a campaign to discredit Venezuela and is using false information for that, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said.
"The American empire has unleashed a campaign to discredit Venezuela and the Bolivarian revolution in a bid to justify any actions against the country," he told Venezolana de Television. "Being unable to say that Maduro possesses weapons of mass destruction, biological, chemical weapons or that Venezuela is developing nuclear weapons, the United States disseminates false information no one, first of all the US people, believes in."
"Venezuela is a peaceful country and it has never threatened anyone," he emphasized. He recalled that the CIA’s interference into domestic affairs of Latin American countries that resulted in overthrowing legitimate governments, like, for example, in Chile in 1973.
According to Maduro, "the national military-policy unity" guarantees Venezuela’s independence and defense. "Our [Latin] America will follow its own path being led by Venezuela, the Bolivarian Alliance for Peoples of America and the Bolivarian revolution," he stated.
Washington accused Caracas of not doing enough to combat drug smuggling. Under this pretext, the US deployed large forces to the Caribbean. Eight US warships, one submarine, and more than 16,000 troops have reportedly been deployed by the United States to Caribbean. Since September, the US has destroyed at least 20 boats and eliminated 76 people allegedly involved in drug trafficking from Venezuela.
According to The New York Times, US President Donald Trump has instructed his administration to halt attempt to reach a diplomatic settlement of tensions with Venezuela and authorized CIA covert operations in that country. However, Trump said on October 31 that he was not looking at delibering strikes on Venezuela’s territory.