Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro criticized “irresponsible” plans for the United States to hold five days of military drills in Trinidad and Tobago beginning on Sunday.
Supporters of the regime gathered on Saturday to watch Maduro’s address in the eastern Caracas neighborhood of Petare, where he called for vigilance and accused the US of pursuing a “criminal war.”
“The people of Trinidad and Tobago will see if they continue allowing their waters and land to be used to gravely threaten the peace of the Caribbean,” he said.
On Thursday, Trinidad and Tobago’s attorney general was quoted by the Financial Times as saying that the US would “intensify” exercises in the twin-island nation, which sits a few miles off the coast of Venezuela.
The announcement of the drills followed a move by the US last month to send a guided-missile destroyer to the country for training exercises, a step that nearby Venezuela denounced as a “military provocation.”
Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign Minister Sean Sobers on Friday denied that next week’s exercises would be a precursor to any potential US military action near the country, particularly in Venezuela.
While there are signs of unease globally over US action in the region, the Caribbean nation’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has championed US presence and has feuded with Maduro.
The drills will include the US Marine Corps’ 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, already deployed in the region to support what Washington says is a mission to “disrupt illicit drug trafficking” in the Caribbean.
The government of Trinidad and Tobago said the exercises would allow US and its own troops to become familiar with each other’s tactics and techniques, and that its forces would be trained by the Americans to deal with domestic issues such as drug-related crime and gang violence.
In recent weeks, the US has amassed its naval forces in the Caribbean, also bringing its largest waship, the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, to the region. In response, Venezuela has said it is launching a “massive mobilization” of military personnel, weapons and equipment in the Caribbean.
This has raised fears that both the US and Venezuela may be preparing for a larger conflict.
Possible land strikes
While the US has characterized its regional build-up of forces as aimed at combating drug boats, some experts have questioned why so much firepower is needed for this purpose. They have noted that USS Gerald R. Ford represents America’s largest military presence in the region since its invasion of Panama in 1989.
President Donald Trump has said he believes Maduro’s days are numbered and that US land strikes on Venezuela are possible. CNN has also reported that earlier this week, Trump was presented with options for military operations inside Venezuela. Trump has yet to decide on how to proceed, but he has previously voiced reservations about taking military action meant to oust Maduro.
Maduro recently urged the US to avoid conflict, telling CNN his message to Trump was “yes peace, yes peace.” He repeated these pleas during the address to his supporters on Saturday.
While speaking in English, Maduro said that Venezuelans are on the streets calling for “peace.”
He claimed that Venezuelans do not want to be “slaves to gringos” who would destroy the national flag and that the majority is “prepared to defend this country with honor and love.”
“The strength of the country will always be that of the people and not the oligarchs or the imperialists,” he said.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado called on Maduro loyalists to join the movement against the regime.
“The roar of this land that demands freedom grows and echoes inside and outside the country. Thirty million of us, rise up against a criminal regime that is on its way out,” Machado said while in hiding at an undisclosed location
Machado, who went into hiding following a disputed election last year, has welcomed the US actions as cutting off support to Maduro’s regime. She has also accused Maduro of turning Venezuela into “a real threat to the national security of the United States.”
In a voice message shared to X on Saturday that was addressed to members of the military and security forces, Machado argued that “absolutely no one needs a path of redemption” more than Maduro loyalists.
“History, the law, and the Venezuelan people will be your judges,” she said. “Be a hero, not a criminal. Be a source of pride and not a shame for your family. Be part of Venezuela’s bright future, not the ruin that tyranny created as this day approaches.”
CNN’s Stefano Pozzebon and Isa Cardona contributed to this report.
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