Venezuela Ready to Retaliate if US Attacks, Says Maduro

Venezuela’s President, Maduro, has declared that the country is prepared for war and won’t back down if the US initiates an attack. This statement comes in response to the recent US deployment of a naval armada off the coast of Venezuela, under the guise of a drug enforcement operation. Maduro affirmed that they are ready for a fight if it becomes necessary, as they are merely defending Venezuela’s right to peace. The president emphasized that no one can disturb their independence, territorial integrity, sovereignty, or right to peace. Maduro revealed that troops and militiamen are deployed in about 284 potential warfront locations. Venezuela boasts a significant force, with a 4.5 million-strong people’s militia, a 95-150K man-strong conventional army, and a large arsenal of vehicles, aircraft, warships, and a domestic drone industry built with Iran’s assistance. Recently, accusations were made by Diosdado Cabello, the Venezuelan interior minister, claiming that the US was responsible for the death of 11 civilians in a recent attack on a boat in the Caribbean, contrary to the US claim of them being drug traffickers. The Pentagon has refuted these allegations, branding the Venezuelan government as an ‘illegitimate narco-terrorist regime.’