Maduro vows to declare a ‘republic in arms’ if US forces within the Caribbean assault Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP/REGINA GARCIA CANO and JUAN ARRAEZ) — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Monday mentioned he “would constitutionally declare a republic in arms” if the South American nation had been attacked by forces that the US authorities has deployed to the Caribbean.

“In the face of this maximum military pressure, we have declared maximum preparedness for the defense of Venezuela,” Maduro mentioned of the deployment, which he characterised as “an extravagant, unjustifiable, immoral and absolutely criminal and bloody threat.”

The U.S. Navy now has two Aegis guided-missile destroyers — the united statesGravely and the united statesJason Dunham — within the Caribbean, in addition to the destroyer USS Sampson and the cruiser USS Lake Erie within the waters off Latin America. That navy presence is about to increase.

Three amphibious assault ships — a drive that encompasses greater than 4,000 sailors and Marines — can be coming into the area this week, a protection official instructed The Related Press on the situation of anonymity to explain ongoing operations.

The deployment comes as President Donald Trump has pushed for utilizing the navy to thwart cartels he blames for the circulation of fentanyl and different illicit medication into U.S. communities and for perpetuating violence in some U.S. cities.

On Monday, Venezuelan International Minister Yván Gil, citing a United Nations report, instructed his counterparts in numerous Latin American international locations that the deployment of U.S. maritime forces is constructed on a “false narrative” as 87% of cocaine produced in Colombia departs via the Pacific and traffickers try to maneuver solely 5% of their product via Venezuela. Landlocked Bolivia and Colombia, with entry to the Pacific and Caribbean, are the world’s prime cocaine producers.

Gil added that the narrative “threatens the entire region” and an assault on Venezuela “would really mean a complete destabilization of the region.”

“Let us immediately demand an end to this deployment, which has no other reason than to threaten a sovereign people,” he added throughout a digital assembly of members of the Neighborhood of Latin American and Caribbean States regional group.

Maduro, sworn in to a 3rd six-year time period in January, added that his authorities maintains two strains of communication with the Trump administration, one with the State Division and one other with Trump’s envoy for particular missions, Richard Grenell. He known as Secretary of State Marco Rubio a “warlord” pushing for motion within the Caribbean to topple Venezuela’s authorities. U.S. navy motion towards Venezuela would “stain” Trump’s “hands with blood,” he mentioned.

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Garcia Cano reported from Mexico Metropolis. Related Press author Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report.

Initially Revealed: September 1, 2025 at 11:59 AM PDT