CNN: Maduro urges US citizens to unite with Venezuela for peace

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has called on the people of the United States to unite with Venezuela “for the peace of the Americas,” speaking to CNN’s Stefano Pozzebon during a rally in Caracas on November 13.

Speaking amid rising tensions with the US, which has deployed warships to the Caribbean in a bid to intercept vessels allegedly involved in drug trafficking from Venezuela, Maduro warned against further conflict.

He said: “To unite for the peace of (the Americas). No more endless wars. No more unjust wars. No more Libya. No more Afghanistan.”

When asked if he had a message for US President Donald Trump, Maduro replied in English: “Yes peace, yes peace.”

While he did not directly address concerns over possible US aggression, Maduro said he was focused on governing his country peacefully. At the rally, he also urged Venezuelan youth to resist what he described as a threat of invasion from the United States.

The US has stationed approximately 15,000 personnel and more than a dozen warships in the Caribbean, including the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, marking the largest US military presence in the region since the 1989 invasion of Panama. The Trump administration has carried out at least 20 strikes against vessels accused of drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Pacific, resulting in 80 deaths.

CNN has reported that the administration is considering plans to target cocaine production and trafficking routes within Venezuela. However, US officials have told Congress that there is currently no clear legal justification for strikes inside the country.

In response, Venezuela has mobilised both military personnel and civilian militias, conducting exercises across the nation. Satellite imagery from November 10 shows “hedgehog” anti-vehicle obstacles installed along the Caracas–La Guaira highway, a key route from the coast into the capital.

The Bolivarian National Armed Forces has around 123,000 members, while Maduro has claimed that volunteer militias now number over 8 million, though experts have questioned both the size and the training of these forces.

By Aghakazim Guliyev