Nicolás Maduro is prepared to declare a state of emergency if the United States attacks Venezuela, according to the country’s vice-president.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has intensified its crackdown on cocaine and fentanyl trafficking, deploying a major naval operation in the Caribbean and targeting Venezuelan vessels with airstrikes that have already killed 17 people.
Washington has insisted the strikes are part of its anti-drug strategy, but critics claim the operation is the first step in a plan to overthrow Maduro.
Speaking on Monday, Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez dismissed the US explanation as “lies,” accusing Donald Trump of seeking to plunder Venezuela’s natural resources.
“It has only one purpose and objective: the reserves of oil, gas, gold, minerals and the biological wealth that Venezuela has, which they need for this new era in which the US government declares war on the entire planet,” she said.
If a state of emergency is declared, the president would be able to mobilise the military to protect the country’s borders.
