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US attempts to invade Venezuela are unjustified — president’s adviser

Celso Amorim emphasized that the United States should first address drug trafficking within its own territory

RIO DE JANEIRO, December 17. /TASS/. Any potential aggression by the United States against Venezuela lacks justification, Celso Amorim, Special Adviser on International Affairs to the Brazilian President told TASS.

"In the conflict [between the US and Venezuela], the objectives of regime change and the fight against drugs are intertwined," the diplomat observed. "Nothing can justify a military operation or an invasion."

Amorim emphasized that the United States should first address drug trafficking within its own territory. "The issue is not solely about where drugs are produced or through which territories they transit. Take Brazil, for instance, where drugs are imported and distributed: are the cartels' funds stored here? No, they end up in the United States. Financial institutions operate there whose activities require close examination," the Brazilian leader's adviser insisted.

Simultaneously, Amorim affirmed that Brazil remains open to cooperating with the White House in combating drug trafficking. "I believe Brazil could indeed contribute in this sphere. <…> Regarding drug trafficking, [Brazilian President] Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has already pointed out that Brazil and the US can cooperate. I think such cooperation could also involve Venezuela," he concluded.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly warned that his country faces the gravest threat of a US invasion in the past century, aimed at seizing the world's largest proven oil reserves. Washington has baselessly accused Venezuelan authorities of failing to act against drug smuggling. The US Navy has deployed a carrier strike group led by the USS Gerald R. Ford, a nuclear submarine, and more than 16,000 troops to the Caribbean Sea. Since September, US forces have destroyed at least 20 speedboats in the region, resulting in the deaths of over 80 individuals.

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