Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused the United States of plotting regime change after Washington announced the deployment of 4,000 troops to the waters off his country’s coast.
Last week, The Dallas Express reported the U.S. would send 4,000 personnel near Venezuela to counter drug cartel threats. Tensions escalated further after Attorney General Pam Bondi — serving under President Donald Trump — doubled the U.S. bounty on Maduro to $50 million in early August.
“They are seeking a regime change through military threat,” Maduro said Monday, per Fox News. He claimed Washington has long plotted to oust him.
“Venezuela is confronting the biggest threat on our continent in 100 years,” he added. “A situation like this has never been seen.”
Maduro said Venezuela would not bow to threats, claiming the country was “super-prepared” for military confrontation.
The U.S. has accused Maduro of direct ties to cartels including Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel, and Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles. On Aug. 7, Bondi said the DOJ seized more than $700 million in Maduro-linked assets — including jets, vehicles, and nearly seven tons of cocaine.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell backed that assessment during an Aug. 19 briefing.
“These cartels have engaged in historic violence and terror throughout our hemisphere—and around the globe—that has destabilized the economies and internal security of countries, while also flooding the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs,” said Parnell.
“This requires a whole-of-government effort, and through coordination with regional partners, the Department of Defense will undoubtedly play an important role in meeting the President’s objective to eliminate the ability of these cartels to threaten the territory, safety, and security of the United States and its people… As a matter of security and policy, we do not speculate on future operations.”