FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro confirmed the mobilization of 25,000 members of the armed forces stationed on the border with Colombia and on the country's coast, against the backdrop of the crisis with the United States, which sent an armada of warships to the southern Caribbean, near their territorial waters.
"I ordered the deployment of 25,000 men and women of our glorious Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB)," Maduro said on social media, confirming statements by Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López.
He announced that reinforcements are being sent to the "zone of peace between the two nations", on the border with Colombia, on the Caribbean coast, where the country's most important refineries are located, as well as on the eastern border, particularly in the Amacuro Delta, on the border with Guyana.
"The main purpose of the mobilization is the defense of the sovereignty and national security" of Venezuela and is part of the "fight for peace," the president added.
His American counterpart, Donald Trump, threatened a few days ago to "shoot down" Venezuelan fighter jets if they were deemed to threaten US naval forces in the region. The military was deployed in the name of the war on drug trafficking.
American media sources in the Trump administration have stated that attacks on Venezuelan soil against facilities they say belong to drug cartels are not ruled out.
Venezuela's Vice President and Oil Minister, Delcy Rodriguez, insisted that her country does not play a "major" role in drug trafficking, citing a United Nations report. She called it a "farce," a "lie" with the "sole purpose" of getting US armed forces to "attack Venezuela."
Washington accuses President Maduro of "leading" drug cartels and in July increased the reward it is offering to $50 million for information leading to his arrest.
Last week, the US military struck a speedboat carrying drugs in international waters after it left Venezuela, according to US President Trump, who spoke of 11 dead "narco-terrorists".
Venezuela's armed forces have about 123,000 members, according to military sources. To these are added another 220,000 National Guard soldiers, who, according to President Maduro, have been called up for military service and will be mobilized in the coming days.
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