Venezuela's Maduro says his country is peaceful but will not bow to threats

2/9/2025 6:32

Venezuela is facing the biggest threat seen in South America in a century but will not bow to it, President Nicolas Maduro said on Monday in a rare press conference.



Tensions between the United States and Venezuela have risen in recent weeks amid a large U.S. naval buildup in the Southern Caribbean and nearby waters, which U.S. officials say aims to address threats from Latin American drug cartels.



U.S. President Donald Trump has made cracking down on drug cartels a central goal of his administration, part of a wider effort to limit migration and secure the U.S. southern border.



But Maduro, Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and other officials have said the U.S. is threatening their country with the naval deployments and that the buildup is part of an effort to justify an intervention against them.