Venezuelan minister of Justice and Peace Diosdado Cabello claimed that the U.S. Charge D'Affairs in Colombia is plotting against Nicolas Maduro's authoritarian government and Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
Cabello said during a speech that the death of Colombian Senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay, as well as the prison sentence for former President Alvaro Uribe, Cabello said they "will precipitate some plans in Colombia and others here in Venezuela."
"Remember I warned you about the 'McNaloco,'" he added, a word play combining the name of U.S. Charge D'Affairs in Colombia John McNamara and the term crazy in Spanish.
The statement prompted a response from U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who taunted Cabello.
"You and your gang of brute criminals have wrecked your country like few times seen in human history. Last year's elections and the migration tsunami clearly show the entire world the absolute rejection from your own people," Laundau said in a social media post.
"You, who think are so clever, are not fooling anyone. It's you who have harassed and declared war on the great Venezuelan people. It is clear why you and your gang of bullies are running around filled with anguish while I walk calmly: history shows how tyrants end," he added.
Cabello had already read on air a letter claiming that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is spearheading an initiative to topple the Venezuelan government.
Speaking during his weekly show "Con el Mazo," Cabello read a letter from an alleged viewer who claimed that "Rubio is moving forward with his attempt to organize an Operation Gedeon 2.0," a reference to a failed incursion by a group of former military members to enter into Venezuela.
"He needs to give (Trump) a victory so he supports him as presidential or vice presidential candidate in 2028. In the meantime they even have a department to design false flag operations. They are coming for a war of attrition against our people while they try to seduce our military leaders with villas and castles," reads a passage of the alleged letter.
"Several groups inside and outside Venezuela think they can push for paramilitary actions. What they don't imagine is that they are surrounded," it adds.
In this context, the U.S. military is deploying thousands of troops and four aircraft with their crews to the Southern Caribbean to "support enhanced counter-narcotics operations" against cartels in the region.
CNN reported last Friday that more than 4,000 Marines and sailors are being deployed. They are the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit to US Southern Command.
The army is also deploying a nuclear-powered attack submarine, more P8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft, destroyers and a guided-missile cruiser.
An official told the outlet that the buildup is for now largely a show of force and seeks to send a message rather than being an indicator of a concrete intention to effectively carry out attacks.
Originally published on Latin Times
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