00:00And now to South America, where tensions are rising fast between Venezuela and the United States.
00:05Caracas has announced that it's deploying warships and drones to patrol its Caribbean coast
00:10in direct response to U.S. military buildup nearby.
00:14In a video posted on social media, Venezuelan's defense minister confirmed significant drone deployment
00:19along the naval patrols, including larger vessels that will move further north into Venezuelan territorial waters.
00:27He added that around 15,000 Venezuelan troops will also operate on the country's borders
00:32with Colombia to crack down on criminal gangs involved in drug trafficking.
00:39We will have an important deployment of drones with different missions,
00:43citizens' attention checkpoints, checkpoints for explorations and surveillance,
00:47Navy infantry patrolling through rivers, especially in the Catatumbo River that flows into the Gulf of Venezuela.
00:52We will have Navy patrols in Maracaibo Lake, Navy patrols in the Gulf of Venezuela
00:57and ships of a larger draft up north in our territorial waters.
01:05Now, the announcement comes just days after Washington sent three warships
01:09and about 4,000 Marines towards Venezuela.
01:12U.S. officials say the move is part of an effort to curb Latin American drug cartels,
01:17which they accuse of flooding American streets with narcotics like cocaine and fentanyl.
01:22In fact, yesterday, a U.S. source also told AFP that President Trump
01:25had approved an even larger deployment.
01:28Two more vessels, a guided missile cruiser and a nuclear-powered submarine,
01:32are expected to arrive in the Caribbean as early as next week.
01:36But despite the dramatic show of force,
01:38analysts believe an actual U.S. invasion or airstrikes on Venezuela remain highly unlikely.
01:44In fact, many Venezuelans too appeared to shrug off the military buildup,
01:48calling it posturing from both sides.
01:52Now it's the ships, and so-and-so someone is coming.
01:56It seems like every day there's something.
01:58In the end, it's like there's never anything.
02:00And that also wears you out of it.
02:01Still, the war of words continues.
02:08President Maduro, who claimed a controversial third term in July of 2024 amid fraud allegations
02:14and a crackdown on the opposition, accused President Trump of trying to push for regime change.
02:20He said Venezuela is free of cocoa leaf crops and free of cocaine production,
02:25and argued that the real problem is drug consumption inside the United States.
02:29Washington, however, paints a very different picture.
02:33U.S. officials accused the Venezuelan leader and senior figures in his government
02:36of leading the so-called Cartel de los Solas,
02:40a powerful cocaine trafficking organization that the Trump administration has labeled a terrorist group.
02:46Now, earlier this month, the U.S. even doubled its bounty for President Maduro's capture to $50 million.
02:53And a separate $25 million reward has also been offered for the interior minister.
02:58Now, after the warrant, President Maduro responded by trying to rally support at home.
03:03In fact, he's encouraged thousands of citizens to enlist in volunteer militias
03:06to help defend Venezuela from what he describes as foreign threats.
03:10The cause we defend is too great.
03:15So regime change is not only illegal, but also immoral.
03:19And here they will not succeed in colonizing or enslaving Venezuela, South America, or our America.
03:26And if one day they touch Venezuela, all of America will rise up for us, for the people of Bolivar.
03:32Now, at the diplomatic level, Caracas has gone to the United Nations following a petition demanding
03:38the immediate secession of the U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean.
03:43Venezuela has also warned that the arrival of a nuclear-powered submarine so close to its shores
03:47amounts to a clear act of intimidation and even requested guarantees that nuclear weapons
03:53will not be deployed in the region.
03:54For now, however, both sides remain locked in a tense standoff.
03:59President Trump continues to push military pressure as part of his strategy against cartels
04:03and against President Maduro personally.
04:07Meanwhile, Venezuela is trying to show strength through patrols, militias, and U.N. appeals.
04:13The real question now, however, is simple.
04:16Will this buildup remain a game of intimidation,
04:18or is the Caribbean preparing to witness a much more dangerous showdown?
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