“If the gringos attack, we will respond”

The president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduroassured this Wednesday that his country is increasingly prepared to defend itself against the United States, whose government he has accused of wanting “a war in the Caribbean and South America”: “If the gringos attack, we will respond”he has expressed.

“If the gringos threaten, we work harder; if the gringos attack, we will respond, but nothing stops work, work for the country, work for the health of the people, for education, for the life of the people,” he said in an event broadcast by the state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).

The Government of Donald Trump It maintains at least eight warships and a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine in the Caribbean, as well as more than 4,500 soldiers. Trump has carried out this deployment without authorization from Congress under the argument of combat drug trafficking.

However, Maduro assures that this is an attempt to promote a “regime change” and impose a “puppet government”, as he reiterated this Wednesday.

Since last September 2, when the first attack was carried out against boats coming from Venezuela, at least five vessels have been destroyed. These attacks have taken a toll the lives of 21 peopleaccording to US officials.

The Chavista leader has asserted that Venezuelans are “increasingly prepared to defend the sacred soil of Venezuela” from a “‘gringo’ empire” that, he said, “is not right” and seeks to “steal oil, gas and gold.”

“But we have news for the North American empire: that oil, that gas, that gold, this land and this people will continue to belong to the Venezuelans and we will never allow our homeland to be violated or touched, ever,” Maduro stated: “When the country calls, you have to take the rifle” to defend ithas addressed his compatriots.

This Wednesday, Venezuela activated the ‘Independence Plan 200’ in both regions, announced last September, amid tension between Caracas and Washington over the naval deployment in waters near the South American nation.

Subsequently, the head of Defense, Vladimir Padrino López, indicated that the country is carrying out exercises on the hypothesis of a “military aggression” by the US.

US refuses to block attacks

Almost simultaneously with Maduro’s words, The United States Senate has rejected an initiative to paralyze the military campaign initiated by Trump in Caribbean waters.

The initiative, led by Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, of California, and co-sponsored by his party’s Senators Tim Kaine, of Virginia; Oregon’s Ron Wyden and Vermont independent Bernie Sanders It was defeated by 48 votes in favor and 51 votes against.

The text includes in its first lines the “exclusive” capacity of Congress to declare war, as indicated in the Constitution in its first article, and recalls that it has not done so nor has it authorized the use of force.

“The designation of an entity as a foreign terrorist organization or a specially designated global terrorist does not grant the President legal authority to use force against members of the designated organizations or against any foreign State,” the resolution notes.