Venezuela’s Maduro asks Trump to steer clear of Afghanistan-style ‘forever war’
The Pentagon first signalled the start of this operation almost a year ago, saying it would use a mix of robotic and autonomous systems to monitor drug trafficking in the Caribbean.
Maduro spoke to CNN outside the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas as the US military presence in the region increased. (File Photo)
Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, has called on Donald Trump not to lead the United States into what he called an Afghanistan-style “forever war”.
Maduro told The Guardian, “No more forever wars. No more unjust wars. No more Libya. No more Afghanistan. Long live peace.” He was on his way to a pro-government rally when he made the comments.
‘America’s neighbourhood’
Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday took to social media to announce Operation Southern Spear. “The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighbourhood and we will protect it.” He said the operation would defend the United States from “the drugs that are killing our people”.
The Pentagon first signalled the start of this operation almost a year ago, saying it would use a mix of robotic and autonomous systems to monitor drug trafficking in the Caribbean.
Hegseth’s latest statement may have been an attempt to rebrand Trump’s pressure on Maduro. The Trump administration has ordered strikes on what it says are drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
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The US government says the deployment is part of its “war on drugs”. But The Guardian notes that Venezuela is not a cocaine-producing country and is not part of fentanyl trafficking routes, which mostly involve Mexico.
Analysts quoted by The Guardian see the US show of force as an attempt to remove Maduro, something Trump did not achieve during his first term.
CBS News reported that senior US military officials had given Trump “options for potential operations in Venezuela, including strikes on land”, though no decision has been taken.
Venezuela’s foreign minister, Yván Gil, said in a message to the US: “Don’t you dare [attack]. We are ready.”
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Reuters reported that Maduro’s government had prepared a “guerrilla-style response” in case of a US attack. Plans include small military units at more than 280 sites carrying out sabotage and other tactics.
A second strategy, described as “anarchisation”, would see pro-government groups and intelligence services try to create unrest in Caracas to make the country hard to control for any foreign force, Reuters said.
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Maduro spoke to CNN outside the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas as the US military presence in the region increased. (File Photo) 
