Iran warns of US escalation fallout in Caribbean
Maduro urges Trump to avoid Afghanistan-style ‘forever war’
Iran’s Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei warned of the consequences of the recent US military buildup in the Caribbean region and Latin America for the international peace and security.
In a statement on Saturday, Baqaei called for respect for Venezuela’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity, saying that the US threats to use force against Venezuela’s legally elected government are a blatant violation of international law.
He also noted that such actions constitute a serious breach of the principles of the UN Charter.
Since August, the US has deployed a fleet of vessels and thousands of troops to the Caribbean under the pretext of combating Latin American drug cartels.
The US says it has carried out at least 20 strikes against alleged drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific, killing 80 people.
Baqaei slammed US attacks as instances of unlawful and extrajudicial killings.
The spokesman underlined the need to end the misuse of counter-narcotics operations as a pretext for violating Venezuela’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
There are reports that US plans for military action against Venezuela.
Deliberations at White House
US President Donald Trump said Friday night that he has “sort of made up my mind” about how he will proceed with the possibility of military action in Venezuela, following a second consecutive day of deliberations at the White House that included top national security advisers, the Washington Post reported.
The comments came as US forces in the region awaited possible attack orders, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Joining Trump in deliberations on Friday were Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
Any strike on Venezuelan territory would upend Trump’s frequent promises of avoiding new conflicts and betray promises made to Congress in recent weeks that no active preparations were underway for such an attack.
Afghanistan-style ‘forever war’
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro urged Donald Trump not to lead the US into an Afghanistan-style “forever war.”
Speaking to CNN outside the Miraflores presidential palace in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, Maduro called on Trump to make peace, not war, after the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford, arrived in the region. “No more forever wars. No more unjust wars. No more Libya. No more Afghanistan. Long live peace,” Maduro, 62, declared late on Thursday.