Spanish
Caracas.- Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced this Thursday the launch of the "Independence Plan 200", in which he assured that the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB), Combatant Corps of the militia and the Bolivarian National Militia will participate in "284 battle fronts", to guarantee "the independence and peace" of the country.
"We are activating at this moment from north to south, from east to west, from all the coasts of the Venezuelan Caribbean, from the border with Colombia, from the Andes, from the east of the country and the south, we are activating 284 battle fronts," Maduro said in an event from the Ciudad Caribia residential complex, on the outskirts of Caracas, broadcast by the state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).
The Chavista leader appeared accompanied by the Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino López, and the mayor of the Libertador municipality of Caracas, Admiral Carmen Meléndez, among other officials of his Administration, as well as residents of the area.
"Initiating this operation within the concept of integral defense of the nation, within the conception of the active resistance of the people and within the concept of a permanent offensive of the entire country," Maduro added, wearing a cap and speaking through a radio with troops.
In that context, he called for "the consolidation of positions" and of the "national defense system".
Maduro called to "guarantee all coasts, from end to end, free of imperialists, invaders and groups of violence" and said that if Venezuela has to "fight again" it will do so for its freedom, after recalling the historical feats of independence.
"These seas, this land, these neighborhoods, these mountains, these immensities and the riches of these lands belong to the people of Venezuela. They will never belong to the North American empire," the president expressed.
The deployment announced by Maduro comes amid tensions between Caracas and Washington after the U.S. mobilized eight military ships with missiles and a nuclear-powered submarine in the Caribbean, near the Venezuelan coast, and last week ordered the dispatch of ten F-35 fighter jets to an air base in Puerto Rico.
The government of President Donald Trump accuses Maduro of leading the so-called Cartel of the Suns, designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization allegedly linked to drug trafficking, which has been the reason for military mobilization in the Caribbean and the increase to 50 million dollars of the reward for information that allows the capture of the Chavista leader.
This Monday, Maduro warned about an attempt to promote a "dirty narrative" against the authorities of his country and to lead the American people to a "war in South America", in order to, he assured, bring about a "regime change" and "steal the oil, gas and gold" from Venezuela.
Furthermore, the oil-producing country has ordered the mobilization of ships, the enlistment of millions of militiamen, and a "special reinforcement" of the military presence in five coastal regions of the country.
Maduro launches the "Independence Plan 200" amid tensions with the United States
