Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro issued multiple provocative statements as U.S. naval vessels reportedly sail towards the coast of the South American nation, Reuters reported Thursday.
Maduro made a series of cryptic statements on Wednesday, saying that Venezuela will “defend our seas, our skies and our lands” and hinted at “the outlandish, bizarre threat of a declining empire,” according to Reuters. The dictator’s remarks come in the wake of reports of the U.S. armed forces deploying to the southern Caribbean to fight Latin American drug cartels, with three Aegis-class destroyers equipped with missiles reportedly set to deploy near Venezuela, two sources told Reuters.
Additionally, 4,000 sailors and marines will also be deployed to fight cartels, a separate source told Reuters.
Trump reportedly authorized the military to target drug cartels, although it is unknown when the president made his decision. In February, the Trump administration designated many Latin American cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
The State Department did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
Maduro also mobilized millions of militia soldiers on Tuesday to “ensure coverage of the entire national territory.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi put out a $50 million reward on Aug. 7 for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, raising the payout from the original $15 million amount posted in 2020.
“He is one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world and a threat to our national security. Therefore, we’ve doubled his reward to $50 million,” Bondi said regarding the socialist dictator. “Under President Trump’s leadership, Maduro will not escape justice, and he will be held accountable for his despicable crimes.”
Latin American cartels are a chief contributor to the ongoing fentanyl crisis in the U.S., which is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths every year.
Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell told the DCNF that while it would not speculate on future operations as a matter of security, that it would play an “important role” in President Donald Trump’s initiative to take on cartels.
“On day one of the Trump Administration, the President published an Executive Order designating drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, clearly identifying them as a direct threat to the national security of the United States,” Parnell told the DCNF. “These cartels have engaged in historic violence and terror throughout our Hemisphere—and around the globe– that has destabilized economies and internal security of countries but also flooded the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs.”
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