The rivalry between the United States and Venezuela is coming to a head as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is accusing President Donald Trump (R) of a “Hollywoodized” war.
The Trump administration has made it clear that it does not believe that Maduro’s presidency is legitimate.
During a press conference on August 19th, Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, insinuated that President Trump is considering “boots on the ground” to combat the pouring of drugs into the U.S.
“President Trump has been clear and consistent that he’s prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding in to our country,” Leavitt said.
As tension continues to rise between both countries, Maduro says he is on high alert with the Trump administration, accusing it of pursuing a “Hollywoodized” war.
During an interview with RT, the Russian state news organization, Maduro accused the president of looking to “stain the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, its leadership, its president, and attempting an operation to attack us.”
Maduro then argued that his country is facing “eight war ships in the Caribbean,” which is a first for Venezuela. He claims that the ships have 1,200 missiles pointing at the country along with a nuclear submarine.
To make matters worse, Puerto Rico is reportedly the headquarters for a military operation against Venezuela.
“The governor of Puerto Rico has joined the military plan,” Maduro claimed.
While Maduro has maintained a firm stance in its capabilities to fend itself against the United States, the Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil sang a different tune in a recent interview with CNN. Simply put, “we are not betting on conflict, nor do we want conflict,” Gil said.
CNN reports that Maduro has mobilized around 4.5 million militiamen to defend Venezuela should the United States attack.
“We are denying the possibility of conflict because we are prepared to deter any deployment and we have a clear determination to defend our homeland,” Gil noted.
