Venezuelan Minister of Interior, Justice, and Peace Néstor Reverol said on the 25th that the US government's plan to deploy troops in the Caribbean waters near Venezuela under the pretext of combating drug trafficking has ulterior motives.
During a press conference broadcast on Venezuelan national television, he displayed a map and stated that nearly 90% of the drugs produced in South America are exported via the Pacific coast, rather than through Venezuela's coastline, making the US troop deployment in the Caribbean groundless.
He stated that Venezuela has always been committed to combatting drug-related crimes. In recent operations, authorities have destroyed 10 criminal camps, 5 drug labs, and 28 drug transportation support points in the country, with more than 50,000 kilograms of drugs seized so far this year.
In addition, Reverol announced the deployment of a total of 15,000 soldiers in Táchira and Zulia, the two states bordering Colombia, to fight criminal gangs.
On the 22nd, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro condemned at an event held in the National Assembly (parliament) the US attempt to overthrow the Venezuelan government by means of terrorism and military intervention.