Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has criticized the United States’ “irresponsible” plan to hold five days of military exercises in Trinidad and Tobago starting Sunday.
Regime supporters gathered Saturday to watch Maduro’s speech in Caracas’ eastern Petare neighborhood, where he called for vigilance and accused the United States of pursuing a “criminal war.”
“The people of Trinidad and Tobago will see whether they continue to allow their water and land to be used to seriously threaten peace in the Caribbean,” he said.
On Thursday, Trinidad and Tobago’s attorney general said the United States would “intensify” its exercises in the twin island nation, located a few miles off the coast of Venezuela, the Financial Times reported.
The announcement of the drills followed last month’s move by the United States to send a guided missile destroyer to the country for training, which neighboring Venezuela denounced as a “military provocation.”
Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign Minister Sean Sobers on Friday denied that next week’s exercises are a precursor to possible U.S. military action near Trinidad and Tobago, particularly in Venezuela.
The Caribbean country’s prime minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, has defended the US presence and confronted President Maduro amid signs of global unease over US actions in the region.
The exercise will also involve the U.S. Marine Corps’ 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is already deployed to the region to support the U.S. government’s mission to “interdict illegal drug trafficking” in the Caribbean.
The Trinidad and Tobago government said the exercise would allow the U.S. and its forces to become familiar with each other’s tactics and techniques, and that Trinidad and Tobago’s military would be trained by Americans to deal with domestic issues such as drug-related crime and gang violence.
In recent weeks, the United States has increased its naval presence in the Caribbean, sending its largest battleship, the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, to the region. In response, Venezuela announced it would begin a “massive mobilization” of troops, weapons and equipment in the Caribbean region.
This has raised concerns that both the United States and Venezuela are preparing for a larger conflict.
Possibility of ground attack
The United States aims to build up regional forces to combat drug ships, but some experts question why so much firepower is needed for this purpose. They noted that the USS Gerald R. Ford represents the United States’ largest military presence in the region since the 1989 invasion of Panama.
President Donald Trump has said he believes Maduro does not have long to live and that a ground attack by the United States on Venezuela is possible. CNN also reported that President Trump was presented with the option of military operations inside Venezuela earlier this week. President Trump has not yet decided on his future direction, but he has previously expressed disapproval of military action aimed at ousting President Maduro.
President Maduro recently told CNN that his message to President Trump was “yes peace, yes peace” and urged the United States to avoid conflict. He reiterated those appeals in a speech to supporters on Saturday.
President Maduro, speaking in English, said Venezuelans were demanding “peace” in the streets.
He insisted that Venezuelans do not want to become “slaves to gringos” who destroy the national flag and that the majority are “ready to defend this country with honor and love.”
“The strength of this country has always been the strength of its people, not oligarchies or imperialists,” he said.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Colina Machado called on Maduro supporters to join the anti-regime movement.
“The roar of this land for freedom grows louder and echoes inside and outside the country. We, 30 million people, stand up against this crumbling criminal regime,” Machado said while hiding in an undisclosed location.
Machado, who has been in hiding since last year’s election dispute, welcomed the U.S. move as an end to support for Maduro’s government. She also accused President Maduro of turning Venezuela into a “real threat to the national security of the United States.”
In an audio message addressed to members of the military and security forces shared with X on Saturday, Machado claimed that “no one is more in absolute need of a way out” than Maduro supporters.
“History, the law and the Venezuelan people will judge you,” she said. “Be a hero, not a criminal. Be a source of pride for your family, not a source of shame. As this day approaches, let’s be part of Venezuela’s bright future, not the ruin created by tyranny.”
