Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro warned Friday that his country is prepared to shift from a “political phase” to an “armed struggle” if the United States attacks, amid rising tensions between the two countries.
"We are currently in a political stage," Maduro said in remarks aired by state broadcaster VTV. "But if Venezuela were attacked in any way, we would enter a stage of armed struggle."
"The government of the United States has to abandon its plan for a violent regime change in Venezuela and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean," Maduro continued, calling on Washington to respect the "sovereignty, right to peace and independence" of the countries in these areas.
According to U.S. media reports on Friday, the Department of Defense (DoD) has ordered the deployment of fighter jets to Puerto Rico to assist in the fight against drug cartels.
Late on Thursday, the Pentagon said that two military aircraft from Venezuela had flown near a US Navy ship in what it termed a "highly provocative move... designed to interefere with our counter narco-terror operations." The ship was in international waters.
