03.09.2025 15:08
Venezuelan President Maduro commented on the U.S. sending warships to the waters off Venezuela under the pretext of "fighting drug cartels," saying, "They are trying to stain Trump's hands with blood. We know the real reason they are here. They want to seize Venezuela's oil for free and take control of the country's main gas reserves."
During a meeting with students at a university in the capital Caracas, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro addressed the potential military intervention of the United States in his country. Speaking to Donald Trump's family, Maduro said, "They want to stain Trump's hands with blood, I call on the Trump family from here, they want to stain Trump's hands with blood. If you ask who runs the White House, it is (U.S. Secretary of State) Marco Rubio, it is the Miami mafia."
"THEY WANT TO TAKE OUR OIL FOR FREE"
Maduro expressed that they know the true intentions of the U.S., stating, "You know why they really came. They want to take Venezuela's oil for free, they want to control the country's main gas reserves. But from here, from the streets of Caracas, from the university I attend, I call out to you (the U.S.): there will be peace, sovereignty, freedom, and independence in Venezuela."
"WE KNOW THEIR TRUE INTENTIONS"
Emphasizing that Venezuela's wealth belongs to the people, Maduro noted: "Every time they make up a story, we know their true intentions. Those oil reserves do not belong to Maduro, nor do they belong to the Gringos (the U.S.). That oil belongs to the children, the youth, and all the people of Venezuela. I call out to the young people of the U.S. from here. The country's budget is not spent on war, invasion, sending missiles, or raining bombs on the people."
TENSIONS BETWEEN THE U.S. AND VENEZUELA ESCALATE
U.S. President Trump had previously signed a decree ordering the military to be used more extensively and effectively under the pretext of combating Latin American drug cartels. It has been claimed that Maduro has led the "Cartel de los Soles," which the U.S. has accused of drug trafficking for over a decade, while the U.S. Treasury Department designated the "Cartel de los Soles" as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on July 25.
The U.S. administration announced on August 8 that it had increased the reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest or conviction from $25 million to $50 million. In a statement regarding the potential U.S. intervention on August 18, Maduro said, "We defend our seas, our skies, and our lands; we liberate ourselves, we observe and patrol. No empire can touch the sacred lands of Venezuela, and it must not touch the sacred lands of South America." It was reported that a naval group consisting of a submarine and seven warships was sent to the Caribbean region towards Venezuela on August 28 under Trump's orders.