Venezuela's Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said Wednesday that the country is prepared for a "prolonged war" as tensions escalate with the United States over expanded military presence in the Caribbean.
Speaking on state television, Cabello, considered one of the most powerful figures in President Nicolás Maduro's government, declared that "the country is prepared" and claimed that even "sectors of the opposition have joined the initiative to defend the homeland," as Euro News reports.
Cabello's remarks come as the Pentagon has deployed additional naval and aerial assets to the region, including more than 15 warships, ten F-35 fighter jets, and roughly 7,000 Marines.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, visiting troops aboard the USS Iwo Jima off Puerto Rico, said the maneuvers were "in favor of the vital national interests of the United States" and framed the deployment as part of counter-narcotics operations. "We are prepared to use our power to intercept and destroy the narco-terrorists sending drugs to our country," Hegseth said, according to Infobae.
Cabello dismissed Washington's explanation on Wednesday, claiming the U.S. operation has "nothing to do with drugs" and accused the Trump administration of seeking regime change. "Venezuela does not produce drugs, does not sow coca, does not sow marijuana; the transit is negligible," Cabello said. "But Venezuela has oil, Venezuela has gas, Venezuela has gold, Venezuela has coltan — and Venezuela has dignity."
The warning follows a recent U.S. operation in which military forces sank a boat off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago, killing eleven people Washington identified as suspected members of the Tren de Aragua gang. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the seizure "sent a clear message to the world's narcotraffickers: the president will not tolerate it."
Cabello condemned the incident and accused Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of bearing "great responsibility" for authorizing the action.
Cabello also urged Venezuelans to prepare for potential conflict. "We are not calling for war, nor do we want war with anyone," he said, adding that "our people must be prepared and alert, in every instance, on every front, in every way and form."
The Maduro government has consistently denied U.S. allegations linking senior officials, including Cabello, to drug trafficking.
Originally published on Latin Times
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