Spanish
Caracas.- Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López warned Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago this Sunday that if they were to attack Venezuela from those territories, they "will receive a response" which he considered to be "in legitimate defense", in a context in which Caracas denounces the US naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea as a "threat".
"I tell these Governments, to whom a statement was sent from the United States (...), who have lent themselves to the game: if they attack us from their territory, you will also receive a response and that in legitimate defense", Padrino stated in a video shared on his Telegram channel.
You may be interested in:http://At least five U.S. F-35 fighter jets arrive at Ceiba base in Puerto Rico
On Thursday, Venezuela's Executive Vice President, Delcy Rodríguez, accused Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago of being "vassals" of the United States Department of War and of lending themselves to "aggression plans" by the North American country. "A very clear message to the vassal Governments of the United States Department of War. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago, the Government of Guyana, take it easy. Don't you dare and don't even think about it. They are lending themselves to the perverse plans of an aggression against the people," said Rodríguez. In response, Trinidadian Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar assured this Friday that there "are no plans with the United States to invade Venezuela or send troops from Trinidad and Tobago", and called Rodriguez's accusations "alarmist". Both Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago support the US deployment and have expressed their willingness to collaborate on joint actions against drug trafficking. The United States maintains eight missile-equipped military ships and a nuclear-powered submarine deployed near the Venezuelan coast under the argument of combating drug trafficking, but Nicolás Maduro's Executive considers this an attempt to promote a "regime change" in the South American country. The Donald Trump administration 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.
