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Bolivarian wrath unshackled
Maduro vows ‘armed struggle’ in case of Trump’s attack
Two Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets overfly US warship
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Friday warned that his country would move to a stage of “armed struggle” if attacked, after US President Donald Trump said Venezuelan military aircraft could be shot down if they approached American vessels in the Caribbean.
Maduro’s warning came as tensions escalated sharply between Caracas and Washington following the overflight of two Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets above a US warship deployed to the region.
“We are still in the phase of unarmed struggle,” Maduro told troops during what he described as the operational activation of the Bolivarian National Militia. “But if there is an attack, the whole people will respond against aggression, whether local, regional or national.”
The Venezuelan leader said the country had entered an “enlistment and preparation phase,” with plans to deploy defensive, training, and retraining capacities across the population. He announced the creation of 5,336 new militia units and the activation of 15,000 defensive installations, with some 8.2 million members of the Bolivarian Militia called up.
His comments followed Trump’s stark warning in Washington earlier in the day. “I would say they’re going to be in trouble. We’ll let them know about that … if they fly in a dangerous position,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
The Pentagon said the US vessel was part of a broader deployment aimed at combating criminal organizations and what Trump has repeatedly claimed to be “narco-terrorism.” In recent weeks, Washington has dispatched seven warships, F-35 fighter jets, and a nuclear-powered submarine to the southern Caribbean.
Maduro sent a formal letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in late August, denouncing what he described as escalating US aggression and calling for urgent international intervention.
Maduro says Trump seeking regime change
The escalation follows a September 3 US missile strike on a speedboat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, which killed 11 people. Maduro denounced the strike as an “immoral threat,” saying Venezuela faced “the greatest threat our continent has seen in 100 years.”
The Venezuelan leader said Washington was pursuing regime change under the guise of anti-narcotics operations. “I demand that Trump abandon his plan for a violent regime change in Venezuela and throughout Latin America, and respect the sovereignty, the right to peace and the independence of our countries,” he said.
Maduro rejected US accusations that his government is tied to drug cartels, insisting Venezuela has “always been willing to talk” with Washington but only on the basis of mutual respect. Differences, he added, do not justify a “military conflict.”
Trump, a long-time critic of Maduro, denied accusations of being after regime change in Venezuela. “We’re not talking about that,” he said when asked, but reiterated claims about a “very strange election” earlier this year in which Maduro secured a third term.
Last month, the US president doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million, accusing him of being “one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world.”