Venezuela’s Interior Minister, Diosdado Cabello, has warned of retaliation against those calling for “invasions and sanctions,” after the United States deployed up to three warships off the country’s coast as part of a plan to combat drug trafficking.
“If something were to happen here, which won’t happen, we will go after those who called for invasions, blockades, and sanctions against us,” Cabello said during the broadcast of his latest program, “Con el mazo dando,” on Venezuelan television.
Cabello, however, reiterated that “nothing will happen here” and limited the rumors in this regard to a “psychological war” seeking to fracture the government. “They won’t be able to do it,” the Interior Minister said.
“These people are so strange that they start with their stories and their smoke and mirrors, and then they are the ones who get scared,” rebuked Chavismo’s number two, who nevertheless issued a final warning to those who would welcome any type of US military intervention.
“Be careful because it’s one thing to call on the devil and another to see him coming from there to here, messing around,” he said.
In recent days, the Trump administration has somewhat theatrically intensified the pressure on Venezuela, first by increasing the reward for information leading to the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro to $50 million (€42 million), and now by deploying ships off its coast.
The United States maintains that the arrival of its three warships is part of a campaign to combat drug trafficking, a crime of which Maduro is accused. Although Cabello rules out an invasion, the Venezuelan government announced the deployment of 4.5 million people to join the popular militias.
