Maduro activates military alert and orders his Air Force to be 'ready and willing' to defend the country
The dictator asked the air force to act with "unflappable serenity" and affirmed that the country counts on them to protect what he defined as a "free and sovereign homeland."
Nicolás Maduro
The Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro on Thursday ordered members of the Bolivarian Military Aviation (AMB) to remain "alert, ready and willing" to defend Venezuela, in a context marked by the U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean, which he describes as a direct threat to his permanence in power.
Maduro asked the air force to act with "unflappable serenity" and affirmed that the country counts on them to safeguard what he defined as a "free and sovereign homeland."
The dictator raises the tone and speaks of a "republic in arms"
In a remote intervention, Maduro assured that, if Venezuela were to declare "a republic in arms," the result would be "victory."
He also affirmed that for the last 17 weeks, foreign forces that he described as "imperialist" would try to alter peace in the Caribbean, in Venezuela and in South America "under false and extravagant arguments".
Maduro assured that Venezuela has demonstrated an "immense capacity for coordination, command, control, communication and popular-military-police union" in the face of what he presents as external threats.
Politics
Air Forces Southern conducts bombing exercise over Caribbean as tensions with Maduro escalate
Sabrina Martin
U.S. deployment
On Monday, the United States went a step further by designating the so-called Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist group. This measure directly targets high-ranking military commanders and officials linked to the Venezuelan regime. According to Washington, this criminal structure is allegedly involved in large-scale drug trafficking operations and activities that threaten regional security.
Aerial isolation after security warnings
The panorama was further complicated following an air connectivity crisis that began on Saturday, when international airlines suspended flights after the United States warned of risks when flying over Venezuelan airspace and the southern Caribbean.
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