In panic, Maduro confessed that the US is seeking regime change with its naval operation.

This Monday, in an unusual press conference where he appeared fearful and hesitant, the Venezuelan dictator, Nicolás Maduro, claimed that the United States is seeking regime change in his country with the naval deployment in the Caribbean that was ordered a few weeks ago. 

"They're seeking regime change through military threat," Maduro confessed to journalists, officials, and high-ranking military officers of his regime in Caracas. "Venezuela faces the greatest threat seen on our continent in the last 100 years. A situation like this has never been seen before," the tyrant added. 

A self-conscious Maduro then explained that his country is "peaceful," but that it "won't yield to threats" and that the Venezuelan army is "super-prepared" to handle any threat. Among the weapons promoted by the dictator's forces, the presentation of an "ecological naval drone" last week on social media stands out. 

A regime in panic. 

Chavismo has requested international assistance in recent days by making appeals to the United Nations and pleading for support from powers such as Russia or China. So far, the only geopolitical ally of the regime that condemned the U.S. naval deployment was the Islamic theocracy of Iran, which is facing a period of devastation after its war with Israel in June. 

Since returning to power in January, Trump has made the fight against drug trafficking a central objective of his administration. At the beginning of August, his Department of Justice doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest to 50 million dollars. 

Maduro has already been pursued by the U.S. justice system since 2020, when a federal court based in New York, at the initiative of then-Attorney General William Barr, indicted him and high-ranking members of his regime for narco-terrorism. 

Although U.S. Coast Guard and Navy ships regularly operate in the southern Caribbean, a buildup of troops and naval power of this magnitude is unusual in the region. This is the deployment that Maduro claims will attempt to overthrow his government.